Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · Mississippi

Ship Island Harbor

30.22°N · 88.97°W · Bay · Mississippi Sound

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Best score today · 7 AM · Cobia

75/100Great
Now
438 PM CDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood current
Tide now
Flooding0.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 PM · now

Time8PNOW
Score43Fair
Tide0.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind2 kn SSWgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 3 s
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy30% chance of rain
Water87°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Cobia is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with MDMR before you keep a fish.

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 Mississippi

Spot profile

Ship Island Harbor

Depth
20-25 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Ship Island Harbor

Ship Island Harbor is a bay in Mississippi Sound. Depth is 20-25 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

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 Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack and southern flounder. 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

  • Ship Island Pass

    Channel · 1.9 mi

    60
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 60
    • Red drum 60
    • Atlantic tarpon 59

    2 kt SSWH 9:16 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:31 PM · 0.6 ft

  • West Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    55
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 55
    • Gray snapper 52
    • Atlantic croaker 51

    2 kt SSWH 9:16 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:31 PM · 0.6 ft

  • West Head

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    55
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 55
    • Gray snapper 52
    • Atlantic croaker 51

    2 kt SSWH 9:16 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:31 PM · 0.6 ft

  • South East Spit

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    55
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 55
    • Gray snapper 52
    • Spanish mackerel 52

    2 kt SSWH 9:16 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:31 PM · 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 MDMR before you keep a fish.