Waterlands

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PermitRetention open

Bay · Florida

Goodland Bay

25.93°N · 81.64°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM

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Best score today · 6 PM · Permit

83/100Great
Now
358 AM EST
Best window
3-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.0 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Nov 6 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score35Fair
Tide0.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.8 knmodeled · toward E
Wind3 kn NNEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 3 s
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy81% cloud
Water80°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Permit

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Slot 11 to 22 in, fork length. One fish over 22 inches allowed per person, counted in the bag limit.
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
No more than 2 permit over 22 inches per vessel. Hook and line only in state waters. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Outside the Special Permit Zone. Open year-round.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Permit, Florida pompano and African pompano, 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 Closed (No retention)
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
  • King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 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 Closed (No retention)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Permit is best here

Out of season for Permit · shoulder season starts in 18 weeks

Permit season by week of the year. Out of season for Permit · shoulder season starts in 18 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Permit in Florida →

Spot profile

Goodland Bay

Depth
Up to 6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
Season
Off seasonPermit

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 Goodland Bay

Goodland Bay is a bay in Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is up to 6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and common snook. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, gray snapper and gray triggerfish. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. 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

Permit
Permit cruise flat edges and channels in 2 to 6 feet of water in the Keys and Biscayne Bay, and school over wrecks and reefs in 30 to 120 feet, especially during the spring spawn. A live or artificial crab is the standard bait, cast ahead of a tailing fish on the flats or dropped to a school on a wreck. They spook easily in shallow water, so good light and a long, quiet cast are needed.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
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

  • Coon Key Pass

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    84
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 84
    • Common snook 80
    • Florida pompano 78

    9 kt ENEL 1:05 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:52 PM · 3.1 ft

  • Big Marco River

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    82
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 82
    • Spanish mackerel 81
    • Common snook 77

    9 kt ENEL 1:40 PM · 0.3 ftH 8:40 PM · 2.0 ft

  • Sugar Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    80
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 80
    • Spanish mackerel 79
    • Common snook 77

    9 kt ENEL 1:05 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:52 PM · 3.1 ft

  • Blue Hill Creek

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    80
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 80
    • Spanish mackerel 79
    • Common snook 77

    9 kt ENEL 1:05 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:52 PM · 3.1 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.