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SailfishRetention openBay · Florida
Shell Key Bay
25.90°N · 81.60°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook79
- Atlantic croaker74
- Red drum74
- Atlantic tarpon71
- Gray snapper70
- Spanish mackerel70
- Florida pompano69
- Crevalle jack68
- King mackerel63
- Permit62
- Gag grouper61
- Southern flounder61
- Black drum58
- Cobia58
- Gray triggerfish58
- Red grouper58
- Red snapper58
- Greater amberjack54
- Spotted seatrout53
- Yellowfin tuna51
- Sailfish47
- Mahi-mahi45
- Wahoo44
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 AM · Sailfish
- Now
- 479 AM EDT
- Best window
- 9 AM-12 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Shell Key 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 9 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
88Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.5 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
74Wind: 3 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
69Water temp: 85°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.8 ftSeason & habitat · Sailfish
Species seasonality
61Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
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 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))
- 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)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Sailfish is best here
Shoulder season for Sailfish · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Shell Key Bay
- Depth
- 1-4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder 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 Shell Key Bay
Shell Key Bay is a bay in Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and crevalle jack. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Ghost Cove79
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 79
- Atlantic croaker 74
- Red drum 74
3 kt ENEH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ft
- Long Rock79
Bar · 0.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 79
- Gray snapper 77
- Atlantic croaker 74
3 kt ENEH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ft
- Coon Gravy Gate79
Channel · 1.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 79
- Atlantic croaker 78
- Gray snapper 76
3 kt ENEH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ft
- Buttonwood Bay79
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 79
- Red drum 77
- Atlantic croaker 74
3 kt ENEH 12:17 PM · 3.8 ftL 7:07 PM · 0.4 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.