Waterlands

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CobiaRetention open

Cape · Florida

Nelson Point

30.50°N · 86.45°W · Cape · Western Choctawhatchee Bay

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Best score today · 6 AM · Cobia

74/100Great
Now
352 PM CST
Best window
2-6 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Nov 6 · 4 PM

Time4P
Score35Fair
Tide0.4 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward E
Wind3 kn Wgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy71% cloud
Water76°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 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

Cobia season by week of the year. Out of season for Cobia · shoulder season starts in 16 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cobia in Florida →

Spot profile

Nelson Point

Depth
10-20 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
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 Nelson Point

Nelson Point is a cape in Western Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 10-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, Spanish mackerel and king mackerel. It is peak season now for red drum, Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for king mackerel, gray triggerfish, red grouper and sheepshead. Red drum peak from September through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. King mackerel peak in May and in October.

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.
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

  • Rocky Bayou

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    69
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 69
    • Spanish mackerel 62
    • King mackerel 59

    9 kt SEL 8:36 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:09 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Ward Cove

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    67
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 67
    • Spanish mackerel 67
    • Florida pompano 59

    9 kt SEL 8:36 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:09 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Shirk Bayou

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    57
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 57
    • King mackerel 56
    • Gray triggerfish 53

    9 kt SEL 7:39 PM · 0.3 ftH 8:07 AM · 0.6 ft

  • John Bayou

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    55
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 55
    • King mackerel 53
    • Gray triggerfish 51

    9 kt SEL 8:36 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:09 AM · 0.5 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.