Waterlands

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WahooRetention open

Bay · Florida

Gate Bay

25.87°N · 81.47°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM

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Best score today · 8 AM · Wahoo

81/100Great
Now
4212 PM EDT
Best window
12-6 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High4.7 ft

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

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Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Fri · 83

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score42Fair
Tide4.7 ftHigh
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward WNW
Wind4 kn SSEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherOvercast44% chance of rain
Water85°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Wahoo

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
No minimum size. Open year-round.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Wahoo, 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)
  • 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Wahoo is best here

Shoulder season for Wahoo · 1 more week at shoulder

Wahoo season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Wahoo · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Wahoo in Florida →

Spot profile

Gate Bay

Depth
4-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonWahoo

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 Gate Bay

Gate Bay is a bay in Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 4-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Wahoo
Wahoo patrol drop-offs, seamounts, rigs and weed lines where current and temperature breaks meet, usually along the 100 to 600 foot contours. High-speed trolling at 12 to 18 knots with weighted lures covers ground, and slower trolling with ballyhoo or diving plugs works over known structure. Use wire leader, because their teeth cut monofilament.
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

View all on map →
  • West Pass Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    79
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 79
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Red drum 72

    4 kt SSEH 1:18 PM · 3.2 ftL 8:46 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Fakahatchee Bay

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Common snook 66
    • Florida pompano 66

    2 kt SEL 7:07 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:18 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Daniels Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Common snook 66
    • Florida pompano 66

    2 kt SEL 7:07 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:18 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Gaskin Bay

    Bay · 2.4 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Bonefish 63
    • Crevalle jack 63

    4 kt SSEL 6:39 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:38 AM · 4.2 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.