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Mahi-mahiRetention openBar · Florida
Cape San Blas Shoals
29.65°N · 85.36°W · Bar · Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum62
- Atlantic croaker61
- Atlantic tarpon57
- Spanish mackerel57
- Gray snapper56
- Black drum54
- Crevalle jack53
- Florida pompano52
- Gag grouper51
- King mackerel49
- Red snapper48
- Gray triggerfish47
- Red grouper47
- Yellowfin tuna47
- Southern flounder46
- Permit44
- Sailfish44
- Cobia43
- Greater amberjack42
- Mahi-mahi41
- Wahoo41
- Spotted seatrout37
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 6 PM · Mahi-mahi
- Now
- 4110 AM EDT
- Best window
- 2-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cape San Blas Shoals 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
54Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 7 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
45Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: MorningSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 1.4 ftSeason & habitat · Mahi-mahi
Species seasonality
62Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Cape San Blas Shoals
- Depth
- 10-15 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 San Blas Shoals
Cape San Blas Shoals is a bar in Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 10-15 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 crevalle jack. 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
- Cape San Blas71
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 71
- Florida pompano 64
- Red drum 64
7 kt ENEL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:00 AM · 1.2 ft
- Lighthouse Bayou71
Bay · 2.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 71
- Red drum 66
- Florida pompano 64
7 kt ENEL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:00 AM · 1.2 ft
- Pig Bayou71
Bay · 3.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 71
- Red drum 66
- Florida pompano 64
7 kt ENEL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:00 AM · 1.2 ft
- Bay San Blas61
Bay · 4.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 61
- Atlantic croaker 60
- Spanish mackerel 56
7 kt ENEL 11:38 AM · 1.2 ftH 1:55 PM · 1.3 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.