UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
PermitShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Permit
- Now
- 5511 AM CDT
- Best window
- 11 AM-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Old River 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
Sunday, Oct 4 · 12 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: FloodingWind & pressure
ECMWF
85Wind: 4 kt ESEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
50Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
48Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Permit
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Slot 11 to 22 in, fork length. One fish over 22 inches allowed per person, counted in the bag limit.
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- No more than 2 permit over 22 inches per vessel. Hook and line only in state waters. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Outside the Special Permit Zone. Open year-round.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Permit, Florida pompano and African pompano, 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)
- Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
- Crevalle jack Retention open
- Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
- Gag grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Permit is best here
Shoulder season for Permit · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Old River
- Depth
- 1-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonPermit
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 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 Old River
Old River is a gut in Perdido Bay Area, Alabama. Depth is 1-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, black drum and southern flounder. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Red drum peak from September through November. Gray snapper peak from June through September.
Tackle & technique
- Permit
- Permit cruise flat edges and channels in 2 to 6 feet of water in the Keys and Biscayne Bay, and school over wrecks and reefs in 30 to 120 feet, especially during the spring spawn. A live or artificial crab is the standard bait, cast ahead of a tailing fish on the flats or dropped to a school on a wreck. They spook easily in shallow water, so good light and a long, quiet cast are needed.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Goat Bayou69
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Red drum 59
- Southern flounder 54
5 kt NNEL 11:39 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:49 AM · 0.7 ft
- Bellville Bay69
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Florida pompano 57
- Gray snapper 56
5 kt NNEL 11:39 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:49 AM · 0.7 ft
- Old River69
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Florida pompano 57
- Gray snapper 56
5 kt NNEL 11:39 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:49 AM · 0.7 ft
- Goat Point64
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 64
- Florida pompano 52
- Gray snapper 52
5 kt NNEL 11:39 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:49 AM · 0.7 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 FWC before you keep a fish.