Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Bay · Florida

Hand Cove

30.45°N · 86.59°W · Bay · Western Choctawhatchee Bay

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Best score today · 5 PM · Cobia

73/100Great
Now
491 PM CDT
Best window
3-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score49Good
Tide0.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.0 knmodeled · toward E
Wind4 kn Egusts 13 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 5 s
Air temp88°Hot
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water87°FModel

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)

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

Hand Cove

Depth
6-20 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 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 Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack, gag grouper and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September. 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.
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.
Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Poquito Bayou

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    67
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 67
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Gray snapper 61

    4 kt EL 7:32 PM · 0.1 ftH 8:38 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Garmier Bayou

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    67
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 67
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Gray snapper 61

    4 kt EL 7:32 PM · 0.1 ftH 8:38 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Dons Bayou

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    67
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 67
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Gray snapper 61

    4 kt EL 7:32 PM · 0.1 ftH 8:38 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Paradise Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    61
    Top: Gray snapperPeak season
    • Gray snapper 61
    • Atlantic croaker 60
    • Red drum 60

    4 kt EL 7:32 PM · 0.1 ftH 8:38 AM · 0.6 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.