Waterlands

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Mahi-mahiRetention 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 · Mahi-mahi

83/100Great
Now
352 AM EST
Best window
3-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Nov 12 · 3 PM

Time3P
Score35Fair
Tide3.1 ft ▲Flooding
Wind6 kn WNWgusts 15 · steady
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherClear9% cloud
Water81°FPersisted

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 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)
  • 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 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 Mahi-mahi is best here

Out of season for Mahi-mahi · it leaves in 5 weeks

Mahi-mahi season by week of the year. Out of season for Mahi-mahi · it leaves in 5 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Mahi-mahi in Florida →

Spot profile

Goodland Bay

Depth
Up to 6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
Season
Off 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 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 Florida pompano, common snook and red drum. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, red drum, Spanish mackerel and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, black drum and gray snapper. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September through November.

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.
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.
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

  • Coon Key Pass

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    74
    Top: Common snookShoulder season
    • Common snook 74
    • Spotted seatrout 73
    • Florida pompano 72

    8 kt ENEH 5:28 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:05 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Sugar Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    73
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 73
    • Spotted seatrout 73
    • Common snook 71

    8 kt ENEH 5:28 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:05 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Blue Hill Creek

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    73
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 73
    • Spotted seatrout 72
    • Common snook 71

    8 kt ENEH 5:28 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:05 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Big Marco River

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    72
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 72
    • Common snook 71
    • Red drum 70

    8 kt ENEH 6:00 AM · 2.8 ftL 1:40 PM · 0.3 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.