Waterlands

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Greater amberjackShoulder season

Bay · Alabama

Perdido Bay

30.38°N · 87.43°W · Bay · Perdido Bay Area

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Best score today · 5 PM · Greater amberjack

77/100Great
Now
4111 AM CDT
Best window
3-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High0.7 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
Score41Fair
Tide0.7 ftHigh
CurrentEbb0.7 kn · toward WSW
Wind5 kn NNEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.6 ft · 6 s
Air temp85°Hot
WeatherPartly cloudy42% cloud
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Greater amberjack

Retention open
Daily limit
1 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 34 in, fork length
Season
Sep 1 to Oct 13, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Oct 14
Other
Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. FWC set the 2026 Gulf season to September 1 through October 13 by executive order, matching the federal season.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Amberjack, 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)
  • King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Greater amberjack is best here

Shoulder season for Greater amberjack · 9 more weeks at shoulder

Greater amberjack season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Greater amberjack · 9 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Greater amberjack in Alabama

Spot profile

Perdido Bay

Depth
6-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonGreater amberjack

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 Perdido Bay

Perdido Bay is a bay in Perdido Bay Area, Alabama. Depth is 6-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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

Tackle & technique

Greater amberjack
Amberjack school around wrecks, oil rigs, towers and high-relief reefs in 60 to 250 feet, often suspended well above the bottom. Drop a live blue runner or work a heavy jig through the school, then pump hard, because a big AJ runs straight back into the structure. Heavy conventional gear with 50 to 80 pound line is standard.
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.
Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Old River

    Bay · 6.6 mi

    69
    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

  • Manuel Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Florida pompano 52
    • Gray snapper 51

    5 kt NNEL 11:08 PM · 0.2 ftH 12:24 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Point Ono

    Cape · 5.4 mi

    64
    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

  • Chagrin Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    63
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 63
    • Florida pompano 52
    • Gray snapper 50

    5 kt NNEL 10:36 PM · 0.2 ftH 11:46 AM · 0.9 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.