Waterlands

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SailfishRetention open

Cape · Florida

Cape San Blas

29.66°N · 85.36°W · Cape · Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM

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Best score today · 7 AM · Sailfish

71/100Great
Now
488 AM EDT
Best window
8 AM-4 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High1.8 ft

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Sun · 78

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score48Good
Tide1.8 ftHigh
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward S
Wind6 kn NEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy67% cloud
Water87°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 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)
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

Cape San Blas

Depth
4-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · 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 Cape San Blas

Cape San Blas is a cape in Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 4-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, Florida pompano and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. 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.
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.
Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Lighthouse Bayou

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    71
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Florida pompano 64
    • Red drum 59

    6 kt NEL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:00 AM · 1.2 ft

  • Pig Bayou

    Bay · 2.6 mi

    71
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Florida pompano 64
    • Red drum 59

    6 kt NEL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:00 AM · 1.2 ft

  • Bay San Blas

    Bay · 3.6 mi

    66
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 66
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Atlantic tarpon 62

    6 kt NEL 11:38 AM · 1.2 ftH 1:55 PM · 1.3 ft

  • Cape San Blas Shoals

    Bar · 1.2 mi

    65
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Red drum 65
    • Atlantic tarpon 61

    6 kt NEL 11:38 AM · 1.2 ftH 1:55 PM · 1.3 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.