UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
SailfishRetention openBay · Florida
Goodland Bay
25.93°N · 81.64°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Florida pompano72
- Common snook71
- Red drum70
- Spanish mackerel68
- Spotted seatrout66
- King mackerel63
- Black drum61
- Gray snapper58
- Red snapper58
- Gray triggerfish55
- Red grouper54
- Sheepshead54
- Wahoo48
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Mahi-mahi35
- Permit35
- Sailfish35
- Yellowfin tuna35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · Sailfish
- 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
Notify me when Goodland Bay 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
Friday, Nov 13 · 4 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
38Tide: FloodingWind & pressure
ECMWF
85Wind: 4 kt NPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
97Water temp: 81°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Sailfish
Species seasonality
35Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Sailfish
Retention open- Daily limit
- 1 per day (1 billfish combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 63 in, lower jaw fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Report landed billfish to NOAA within 24 hours. A federal HMS Angling Permit is needed in federal waters, not in state waters. Sailfish you plan to release may not be removed from the water in federal waters, or in state waters if you hold an HMS permit. 1 billfish per person per day. Open year-round.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Billfish, Tuna, and Swordfish, 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)
- 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))
- 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 Sailfish is best here
Out of season for Sailfish · it leaves in 5 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Goodland Bay
- Depth
- Up to 6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Off seasonSailfish
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
- Sailfish
- Sailfish feed along reef edges and color changes, usually in 80 to 240 feet off Southeast Florida and farther out along the Gulf and Carolina shelf edge. Fly live goggle-eyes, pilchards or threadfins from kites, or slow-troll live ballyhoo, on non-offset circle hooks. In winter the best bite often comes the day or two after a cold front, when north wind stacks bait along the edge.
- 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 Pass74
Channel · 1.2 mi
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 Bay73
Bay · 1.2 mi
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 Creek73
Bay · 1.6 mi
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 River72
Bay · 1.6 mi
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.