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CobiaRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook66
- Atlantic tarpon61
- Red drum58
- Atlantic croaker57
- Spanish mackerel55
- Southern flounder53
- Crevalle jack51
- Gray snapper51
- Gag grouper47
- King mackerel46
- Permit46
- Black drum45
- Florida pompano45
- Cobia44
- Gray triggerfish44
- Red grouper44
- Red snapper44
- Greater amberjack39
- Spotted seatrout38
- Sheepshead33
Best score today · 8 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 445 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Venice Inlet scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
21Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 3 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
50Water temp: 89°F, hotLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
66Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Cobia is best here
Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Venice Inlet
- Depth
- 5-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Inlet · Outer · ExposedInlet · slope
- 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 Venice Inlet
Venice Inlet is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 5-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads inlet, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, southern flounder and crevalle jack. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July. Red drum peak from September through November.
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.
- 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.
- Atlantic tarpon
- Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Lyons Bay64
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Red drum 60
- Atlantic tarpon 60
3 kt NEL 5:26 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:50 PM · 1.8 ft
- Blackburn Bay64
Bay · 2.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Red drum 60
- Atlantic tarpon 60
3 kt SEL 5:26 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:50 PM · 1.8 ft
- Roberts Bay62
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 62
- Atlantic croaker 57
- Red drum 57
3 kt NEL 5:26 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:50 PM · 1.8 ft
- Eagle Point58
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 58
- Red drum 52
- Atlantic tarpon 52
3 kt NEL 5:26 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:50 PM · 1.8 ft
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.