Waterlands

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Mahi-mahiRetention open

Bar · Florida

Cape Saint George Shoal

29.55°N · 85.06°W · Bar · Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 PM · Mahi-mahi

71/100Great
Now
418 AM EDT
Best window
1-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score41Fair
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward ESE
Wind7 kn NEgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 4 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy43% cloud
Water87°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 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 yesterday

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

Cape Saint George Shoal

Depth
About 15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · 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 Cape Saint George Shoal

Cape Saint George Shoal is a bar in Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is about 15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, black drum and Florida pompano. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.

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.
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

  • Pilot Cove

    Bay · 3.9 mi

    66
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 66
    • Atlantic croaker 60
    • Southern flounder 58

    7 kt NEH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ftL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Cape Saint George

    Cape · 2.3 mi

    62
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 62
    • Atlantic croaker 60
    • Spanish mackerel 59

    7 kt NEH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ftL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Horseshoe Cove

    Bay · 3.6 mi

    62
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 62
    • Atlantic croaker 60
    • Atlantic tarpon 58

    7 kt NEH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ftL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Higgins Shoal

    Bar · 5.0 mi

    62
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 62
    • Atlantic croaker 60
    • Atlantic tarpon 58

    7 kt NEH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ftL 9:03 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.