Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Channel · Mississippi

Ship Island Pass

30.20°N · 88.99°W · Channel · Mississippi Sound

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Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia

77/100Great
Now
5311 AM CDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.3 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score53Good
Tide1.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind2 kn NEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp88°Hot
WeatherClear7% cloud
Water86°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 Pass

Depth
20-35 ftSlope
Structure
Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Ship Island Pass

Ship Island Pass is a channel in Mississippi Sound. Depth is 20-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, crevalle jack and black drum. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.

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 Harbor

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Gray snapper 68
    • Crevalle jack 59

    2 kt NEL 6:11 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:13 AM · 1.7 ft

  • West Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    62
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 62
    • Gray snapper 61
    • Red drum 59

    2 kt NEL 6:11 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:13 AM · 1.7 ft

  • South East Spit

    Bar · 0.7 mi

    62
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 62
    • Gray snapper 61
    • Red drum 59

    2 kt NEL 6:11 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:13 AM · 1.7 ft

  • West Head

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    62
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 62
    • Gray snapper 61
    • Red drum 58

    2 kt NEL 6:11 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:13 AM · 1.7 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.