Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Cape · Florida

Southeast Head

27.60°N · 82.56°W · Cape · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 10 PM · Cobia

75/100Great
Now
305 AM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low1.6 ft

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Sat · 79

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 AM · now

Time5ANOW
Score30Fair
Tide1.6 ftLow
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind4 kn ESEgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 3 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy55% cloud
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Cobia

Retention open
Daily limit
1 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 36 in, fork length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
1 per person or 2 per vessel, whichever is less. Spears, gigs, hook and line, seine or cast net.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Cobia, read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Atlantic croaker Retention open
  • Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
  • Bluefish Retention open (10 per day)
  • Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
  • Crevalle jack Retention open
  • Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
  • Gag grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
  • Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
  • Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
  • Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
  • Snook Retention open (1 per day)
  • Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cobia is best here

Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder

Cobia season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cobia in Florida →

Spot profile

Southeast Head

Depth
2-4 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonCobia

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Southeast Head

Southeast Head is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 2-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, southern flounder and black drum. Red drum peak from September through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.

Tackle & technique

Cobia
Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
Common snook
Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Bishop Harbor

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    63
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 63
    • Gray snapper 58
    • Atlantic croaker 57

    4 kt ESEH 10:46 AM · 2.3 ftL 6:08 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Hells Half Acre

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    59
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 59
    • Common snook 57
    • Atlantic croaker 55

    4 kt ESEH 10:46 AM · 2.3 ftL 6:08 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Clambar Bay

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    59
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 59
    • Common snook 57
    • Atlantic croaker 56

    4 kt ESEH 10:46 AM · 2.3 ftL 6:08 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Sea Breeze Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    57
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 57
    • Gray snapper 52
    • Atlantic croaker 50

    4 kt ESEH 10:58 AM · 2.2 ftL 6:43 PM · 0.5 ft

Open in the tide map

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with FWC before you keep a fish.