UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
CobiaShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 494 AM CDT
- Best window
- 4-11 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Smugglers 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 4 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
84Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.4 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
94Wind: 2 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
35Water temp: 86°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
56Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: MDMR · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Cobia is best here
Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Smugglers Cove
- Depth
- 2-6 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 Smugglers Cove
Smugglers Cove is a bay in Mississippi Sound. Depth is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum. It is peak season now for gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, black drum and crevalle jack. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic croaker peak from July 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Little Bay71
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Gray snapperPeak season- Gray snapper 71
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 68
2 kt NEH 8:18 AM · 2.0 ftL 6:45 PM · 0.6 ft
- South Spit67
Bar · 0.8 mi
Top: Gray snapperPeak season- Gray snapper 67
- Atlantic croaker 65
- Red drum 64
2 kt NEH 8:18 AM · 2.0 ftL 6:45 PM · 0.6 ft
- Middle Spit66
Bar · 0.5 mi
Top: Gray snapperPeak season- Gray snapper 66
- Atlantic croaker 65
- Red drum 63
2 kt NEH 8:18 AM · 2.0 ftL 6:45 PM · 0.6 ft
- Good Scotch Point66
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Gray snapperPeak season- Gray snapper 66
- Atlantic croaker 65
- Red drum 63
2 kt NEH 8:18 AM · 2.0 ftL 6:45 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.