Waterlands

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Mahi-mahiRetention open

Bay · Florida

Caxambas Pass

25.91°N · 81.72°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Mahi-mahi

80/100Great
Now
4210 AM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.9 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Wed · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score42Fair
Tide2.9 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward ESE
Wind4 kn Egusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.8 ft · 3 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherOvercast90% cloud
Water87°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Mahi-mahi

Retention open
Daily limit
10 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Captain and crew may not keep a bag limit. 10 per person or 60 per vessel, whichever is less. Hook and line or spearing. No minimum size.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Dolphinfish/Mahi-Mahi, 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)
  • 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 Catch & release (No retention)
  • 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Mahi-mahi is best here

Shoulder season for Mahi-mahi · 1 more week at shoulder

Mahi-mahi season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Mahi-mahi · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Mahi-mahi in Florida →

Spot profile

Caxambas Pass

Depth
3-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Pass · Outer · ExposedPass · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonMahi-mahi

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 Caxambas Pass

Caxambas Pass is a bay in Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 3-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and crevalle jack. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.

Tackle & technique

Mahi-mahi
Mahi feed near the surface along weedlines, floating debris, buoys and current edges offshore, in water from the low 70s to the low 80s. Troll ballyhoo or small skirted lures along the weed, and when a school comes up behind the boat keep one hooked fish in the water while you pitch cut bait or jigs to the rest. Look for birds working over weed and flotsam.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Clam Factory Shoal

    Bar · 1.2 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Common snook 74
    • Florida pompano 67

    4 kt EH 11:10 AM · 3.0 ftL 5:41 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Smokehouse Creek

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Common snook 71
    • Red drum 66

    4 kt EH 11:10 AM · 3.0 ftL 5:41 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Caxambas Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Common snook 71
    • Red drum 65

    4 kt EH 11:10 AM · 3.0 ftL 5:41 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Roberts Bay

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    71
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Common snook 70
    • Red drum 68

    4 kt EH 11:10 AM · 3.0 ftL 5:41 PM · 0.6 ft

Open in the tide map

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.