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Little tunnyOff seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Little tunny
- Now
- 355 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8-11 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hillsboro Inlet 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 · 5 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
35Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.5 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 3 kt SPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
4Water temp: 86°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Little tunny
Species seasonality
51Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
No rule for Little tunny 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 (50 per day)
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (3 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 Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (10 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
- Red snapper Check regulations
- 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 (50 per day)
- 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Little tunny is best here
Out of season for Little tunny · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Hillsboro Inlet
- Depth
- 4-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Inlet · Outer · ExposedInlet · flat bottom
- Season
- Off seasonLittle tunny
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 Hillsboro Inlet
Hillsboro Inlet is a bay in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 4-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads inlet, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, bonefish, red drum and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November.
Tackle & technique
- Little tunny
- Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
- Common snook
- Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
- Atlantic tarpon
- Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- New River Sound75
Channel · 10 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 75
- Atlantic tarpon 69
- Crevalle jack 63
5 kt SH 5:45 AM · 2.5 ftL 12:29 PM · 0.9 ft
- Yamato Rock72
Cape · 9.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic tarpon 69
- Crevalle jack 65
5 kt SSWH 7:12 AM · 2.5 ftL 1:53 PM · 0.8 ft
- Mooney Point69
Cape · 9.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 69
- Atlantic tarpon 61
- Crevalle jack 57
5 kt SH 5:45 AM · 2.5 ftL 12:29 PM · 0.9 ft
- Hillsboro Bay66
Bay · 0.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 66
- Bonefish 61
- Atlantic tarpon 60
3 kt SH 5:34 AM · 2.6 ftL 11:59 AM · 0.8 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.