Waterlands

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WahooRetention open

Channel · Florida

Southwest Gate

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

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Best score today · 9 AM · Wahoo

81/100Great
Now
4511 AM EDT
Best window
11 AM-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.6 ft ▲

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

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Thu · 82

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score45Good
Tide3.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind3 kn ESEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp82°Warm
WeatherOvercast93% cloud
Water85°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Wahoo

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
No minimum size. Open year-round.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Wahoo, 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))
  • 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Wahoo is best here

Shoulder season for Wahoo · 1 more week at shoulder

Wahoo season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Wahoo · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Wahoo in Florida →

Spot profile

Southwest Gate

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

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 Atlantic croaker, common snook and gray snapper. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and black drum. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September.

Tackle & technique

Wahoo
Wahoo patrol drop-offs, seamounts, rigs and weed lines where current and temperature breaks meet, usually along the 100 to 600 foot contours. High-speed trolling at 12 to 18 knots with weighted lures covers ground, and slower trolling with ballyhoo or diving plugs works over known structure. Use wire leader, because their teeth cut monofilament.
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.
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

View all on map →
  • Coon Gravy Gate

    Channel · 1.1 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Common snook 77
    • Gray snapper 70

    3 kt ESEH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Sugar Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    77
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 77
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Red drum 74

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

  • Blackwater Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    77
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 77
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Red drum 70

    3 kt ESEH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Ghost Cove

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    77
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 77
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Red drum 70

    3 kt ESEH 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.