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SailfishRetention openGut · Florida
Deep Creek
30.42°N · 81.45°W · Gut · Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker79
- Spot74
- Atlantic tarpon70
- Florida pompano69
- Crevalle jack67
- Red drum67
- Gray snapper64
- Southern flounder64
- Summer flounder64
- King mackerel61
- Spanish mackerel60
- Black drum58
- Black sea bass57
- Spotted seatrout55
- Little tunny54
- Weakfish54
- Sheepshead51
- Gray triggerfish49
- Red grouper49
- Red snapper49
- Mahi-mahi47
- Cobia46
- Greater amberjack44
- Wahoo43
- Bluefish35
- Sailfish35
- Yellowfin tuna35
- Gag grouper20
Best score today · 5 AM · Sailfish
- Now
- 358 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8-11 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing4.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Deep Creek 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 · 8 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
36Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 7 kt NNEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
76Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.7 ftSeason & habitat · Sailfish
Species seasonality
33Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade 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 (50 per day)
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (3 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 (10 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
- Red snapper Check regulations
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open (50 per day)
- 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
Out of season for Sailfish · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Deep Creek
- Depth
- 4-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · 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 Deep Creek
Deep Creek is a gut in Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 4-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 28 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, black drum and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.
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.
- 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.
- Spot
- Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Mayport Cut Range79
Channel · 1.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 79
- Atlantic tarpon 74
- Crevalle jack 73
7 kt NNEL 12:39 PM · 1.0 ftH 7:16 PM · 5.2 ft
- Fort George River79
Gut · 2.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 79
- Spot 74
- Atlantic tarpon 73
7 kt NNEL 1:15 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:27 PM · 5.3 ft
- Hannah Mills Creek78
Gut · 1.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 78
- Spot 73
- Atlantic tarpon 73
7 kt NNEL 1:24 PM · 1.0 ftH 7:45 PM · 4.9 ft
- Horseshoe Creek75
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 75
- Spot 73
- Southern flounder 71
7 kt NNEL 1:15 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:27 PM · 5.3 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.