Waterlands

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Mahi-mahiRetention open

Channel · Florida

Southwest Gate

25.92°N · 81.62°W · Channel · Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Mahi-mahi

82/100Great
Now
442 PM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.3 ft ▼

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Wed · 83

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score44Fair
Tide3.3 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.7 knmodeled · toward WNW
Wind2 kn SSWgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherOvercast84% chance of rain
Water85°FObserved

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 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)
  • 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)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Mahi-mahi is best here

Shoulder season for Mahi-mahi · 1 more week at shoulder

Mahi-mahi season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Mahi-mahi · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Mahi-mahi in Florida →

Spot profile

Southwest Gate

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder 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 Southwest Gate

Southwest Gate is a channel in Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 1-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

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

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.
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

View all on map →
  • Sugar Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    78
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 78
    • Red drum 77
    • Atlantic croaker 71

    4 kt SL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ftH 1:09 AM · 3.6 ft

  • Blackwater Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    78
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 78
    • Red drum 73
    • Atlantic croaker 72

    2 kt SSWL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ftH 1:09 AM · 3.6 ft

  • Coon Gravy Gate

    Channel · 1.1 mi

    78
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 78
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Gray snapper 74

    2 kt SSWL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ftH 1:09 AM · 3.6 ft

  • Ghost Cove

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    78
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 78
    • Red drum 73
    • Atlantic croaker 72

    2 kt SSWL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ftH 1:09 AM · 3.6 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.