Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

SailfishRetention 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 · Sailfish

79/100Great
Now
426 AM EDT
Best window
8 AM-6 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.6 ft ▼

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

Notify me when Southwest Gate scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Wed · 82

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 AM · now

Time6ANOW
Score42Fair
Tide1.6 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NE
Wind4 kn Egusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 3 s
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy58% cloud
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Sailfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Sailfish · 5 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Sailfish in Florida →

Spot profile

Southwest Gate

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · 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 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 red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, southern flounder and Spanish mackerel. 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

View all on map →
  • Sugar Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    66
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 66
    • Red drum 63
    • Atlantic croaker 58

    4 kt EH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Blackwater Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    66
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 66
    • Red drum 60
    • Atlantic croaker 59

    4 kt EH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Coon Gravy Gate

    Channel · 1.1 mi

    66
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 66
    • Atlantic croaker 63
    • Red drum 60

    4 kt EH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Ghost Cove

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    66
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 66
    • Red drum 60
    • Atlantic croaker 59

    4 kt EH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 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.