Permit, Kings, and Cobia Fire as Gulf Spring Hits Full Stride

What's Biting

What's Next

Water temps at 77–78°F — confirmed at NOAA buoys 42036 and 42039 — remain in the sweet spot for peak spring species on the Gulf Coast. Light winds and seas in the 2- to 2.3-foot range leave the calendar open for both flat-water inshore work and comfortable offshore runs over the next several days.

**Offshore:** The Naples Offshore Fishing Charters spring report makes clear this is a multi-species window — permit, kingfish, cobia, and amberjack all active at the same time. Sight fishing for large permit should stay productive while water clarity holds. Kingfish continue to respond to plugs and flies, and the charter notes that 'the next few weeks are where things really start to happen,' suggesting the bite has room to improve further into May. Cobia are in the midst of their Gulf Coast spring migration, tracking rays and sharks both nearshore and offshore — catchable by sight or on live bait near bottom structure. Amberjack will hold on wrecks and artificial reefs in deeper water throughout the week.

**Inshore:** Captain Rick Murphy (FL Insider) is reporting the trout bite is on across Florida. With the Last Quarter moon dialing back tidal range, bait concentrates along grass flat edges and channel drops — ideal feeding windows for spotted seatrout, especially at first light and again in the final hour before dark. Salt Strong has been emphasizing topwater plugs as a top spring presentation, consistent with the calm, warm-water pattern currently in place.

**Hogfish:** Saltwater Sportsman highlights Tampa Bay as an epicenter of a growing rod-and-reel hogfish fishery, noting this 'crazy-looking wrasse' has seen a decade of puzzle-solving by Gulf Coast anglers. Water temps in the upper 70s are right for this species on rubble and live bottom in 30–80 feet — worth adding to the target list for those willing to explore nearshore structure.

**Timing windows:** Early mornings are strongest for permit sight fishing before thermal haze builds on the flats. Trout topwater bites peak at first light and last light. Offshore kingfish and cobia action tends to hold throughout the day under these calm conditions. Plan weekend runs early — late-May moisture systems can arrive quickly and close the offshore window.

Context

Mid-May is historically one of the most productive periods on the Florida Gulf Coast for species variety. The pattern playing out right now — permit on the flats, kingfish and cobia offshore, trout active inshore — is textbook for the region at this time of year. Water temps in the 77–78°F range represent a normal seasonal position for Gulf surface waters by the second week of May, right in the transition zone between the last cool-water holdovers and the full summer warming trend.

Cobia migration timing is on schedule. These fish are classic late-April through May visitors along the Gulf Coast, tracking rays and sharks nearshore before dispersing to deeper summer grounds. Kingfish action in calm, warm water near the 78°F mark is consistent with historical spring patterns in Southwest Florida — Naples Offshore Fishing Charters called winter kingfish fishing some of the best in years, and the spring transition has kept the bite alive.

The trout bite reported by Captain Rick Murphy (FL Insider) as being on across Florida aligns squarely with seasonal norms: warming water pulls baitfish back onto the grass and spotted seatrout follow. May is typically a transitional peak month for Gulf inshore trout before summer heat pushes fish deeper into cooler channels.

The hogfish angle from Saltwater Sportsman adds useful context: this has grown from a niche spearfishing target into a mainstream rod-and-reel pursuit over the past decade, with Tampa Bay as its hub — a good reminder that spring on the Gulf Coast now supports a broader species menu than it did a generation ago.

No year-over-year comparison data is available in current intel feeds to benchmark 2026 against prior springs with precision. Naples Offshore Fishing Charters characterizes conditions as 'as good as it gets for this time of year,' which points to a normal-to-strong spring — but whether that marks an improvement over 2025 is not determinable from available sources. The honest read: 2026 is on schedule and producing across the full target-species stack.