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Yellowfin tunaShoulder seasonBay · Florida
Cut Off Creek
29.98°N · 83.78°W · Bay · Apalachee Bay or Coastal Waters From Keaton Beach to Ochlockonee River Fl out to 20 Nm
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum65
- Atlantic croaker61
- Southern flounder57
- Atlantic tarpon56
- Gray snapper56
- Black drum53
- Permit52
- Spanish mackerel50
- Crevalle jack48
- Spotted seatrout48
- Florida pompano46
- Gag grouper46
- Red snapper46
- Yellowfin tuna46
- Gray triggerfish42
- King mackerel42
- Red grouper42
- Sailfish42
- Cobia39
- Greater amberjack37
- Mahi-mahi36
- Wahoo35
- Sheepshead32
Best score today · 6 PM · Yellowfin tuna
- Now
- 466 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5-7 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cut Off Creek 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 · 6 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
56Tide: EbbingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 6 kt NNEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
60Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Yellowfin tuna
Species seasonality
62Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
No rule for Yellowfin tuna is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with FWC before you keep a fish.
Species rules 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)
- 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 (5 per day)
- Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Yellowfin tuna is best here
Shoulder season for Yellowfin tuna · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cut Off Creek
- Depth
- Up to 1 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonYellowfin tuna
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 Cut Off Creek
Cut Off Creek is a bay in Apalachee Bay or Coastal Waters From Keaton Beach to Ochlockonee River Fl out to 20 Nm, Florida. Depth is up to 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic croaker and southern flounder. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for southern flounder, Atlantic tarpon, black drum and permit. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Southern flounder peak from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- Yellowfin tuna
- Yellowfin feed in blue water along canyon edges, the shelf break, current edges, deepwater platforms and FADs, usually from the surface to about 300 feet. Troll ballyhoo, spreader bars and cedar plugs early in the day, then chunk butterfish or sardines, fish live hardtails, or drop jigs to marks. Around Gulf platforms and in the canyons the night bite on chunks and jigs is often better than the day.
- 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.
- 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
- Cedar Island Bayou64
Bay · 2.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 64
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Southern flounder 58
6 kt NNEL 6:52 AM · 1.5 ftH 12:53 PM · 3.3 ft
- Stake Point62
Cape · 1.0 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 62
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Gray snapper 56
6 kt NNEL 6:52 AM · 1.5 ftH 12:53 PM · 3.3 ft
- Rock Point62
Cape · 1.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 62
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Gray snapper 56
6 kt NNEL 6:52 AM · 1.5 ftH 12:53 PM · 3.3 ft
- Rock Point62
Cape · 3.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 62
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Gray snapper 56
6 kt NNEL 6:52 AM · 1.5 ftH 12:53 PM · 3.3 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.