Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

CobiaRetention open

Channel · Florida

Barge Channel

28.57°N · 80.61°W · Channel · Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Cobia

83/100Great
Now
572 PM EDT
Best window
2 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.7 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Barge Channel scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Thu · 84

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score57Good
Tide1.7 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward S
Wind8 kn NEgusts 17 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 6 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherOvercast94% chance of rain
Water83°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade 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 (50 per day)
  • Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
  • Bluefish Retention open (3 per day)
  • Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
  • Crevalle jack Retention open
  • Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
  • Gag grouper Closed (No retention)
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (10 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Catch & release (No retention)
  • Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
  • Red snapper Check regulations
  • 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 (50 per day)
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (2 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 today

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

Barge Channel

Depth
2-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · 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 Barge Channel

Barge Channel is a channel in Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 2-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, Atlantic tarpon and spot, and shoulder season for black drum, black sea bass, weakfish and sheepshead. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

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.
Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
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 →
  • Jack Davis Cut

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    81
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 81
    • Common snook 78
    • Spot 76

    8 kt NEH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ftL 12:20 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Tea Creek Cutoff

    Channel · 0.8 mi

    81
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 81
    • Common snook 78
    • Spot 76

    8 kt NEH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ftL 12:20 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Tea Creek

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    78
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 78
    • Crevalle jack 75
    • Spot 75

    8 kt NEH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ftL 12:20 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Pintail Creek

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    78
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 78
    • Crevalle jack 75
    • Red drum 75

    8 kt NEH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ftL 12:20 AM · 1.0 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.