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CobiaRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 3510 AM CST
- Best window
- 2-6 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hand Cove 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
Saturday, Nov 7 · 6 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
70Tide: EbbingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 3 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
88Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
35Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
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 Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- 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 Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Cobia is best here
Out of season for Cobia · shoulder season starts in 16 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Hand Cove
- Depth
- 6-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
- Season
- Off 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 Hand Cove
Hand Cove is a bay in Western Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 6-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and red drum. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for sheepshead, king mackerel, gray triggerfish and red grouper. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. 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.
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Paradise Point62
Cape · 0.3 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 62
- Spanish mackerel 58
- King mackerel 56
8 kt ENEL 6:31 PM · 0.1 ftH 8:58 AM · 0.4 ft
- Poquito Bayou62
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 62
- Red drum 62
- Spanish mackerel 58
8 kt ENEL 6:31 PM · 0.1 ftH 8:58 AM · 0.4 ft
- Garmier Bayou62
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 62
- Red drum 62
- Spanish mackerel 58
8 kt ENEL 6:31 PM · 0.1 ftH 8:58 AM · 0.4 ft
- Dons Bayou62
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 62
- Red drum 62
- Spanish mackerel 58
8 kt ENEL 6:31 PM · 0.1 ftH 8:58 AM · 0.4 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.