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SailfishRetention openBay · Florida
Big Bayou
29.67°N · 85.13°W · Bay · Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum64
- Atlantic croaker59
- Florida pompano56
- Gray snapper54
- Black drum53
- Permit53
- Southern flounder53
- Spanish mackerel53
- Atlantic tarpon51
- Crevalle jack51
- Gag grouper50
- King mackerel49
- Cobia47
- Gray triggerfish46
- Red grouper46
- Red snapper46
- Spotted seatrout44
- Yellowfin tuna44
- Greater amberjack42
- Sailfish42
- Mahi-mahi40
- Wahoo39
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 1 AM · Sailfish
- Now
- 4212 PM EDT
- Best window
- 3-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big Bayou 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 · 12 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
38Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.4 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 7 kt EPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
43Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: Bright sunSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 1.1 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 Retention open (1 per day)
- 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 today
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
Big Bayou
- Depth
- 1-2 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · 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 Big Bayou
Big Bayou is a bay in Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic croaker and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, permit and southern flounder. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October 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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- 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
- Paradise Point66
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Red drum 61
- Florida pompano 60
8 kt ENEH 1:29 PM · 1.6 ftL 9:01 PM · 0.4 ft
- Saint Vincent Point66
Cape · 3.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Red drum 61
- Florida pompano 60
8 kt ENEH 1:29 PM · 1.6 ftL 9:01 PM · 0.4 ft
- Sheepshead Bayou65
Bay · 2.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 65
- Red drum 64
- Florida pompano 58
8 kt ENEH 1:29 PM · 1.6 ftL 9:01 PM · 0.4 ft
- Saint Vincent Sound64
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 64
- Atlantic croaker 59
- Florida pompano 56
8 kt ENEH 3:04 PM · 1.6 ftL 10:55 PM · 0.5 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.