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SailfishRetention 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
- Atlantic croaker69
- Red drum69
- Atlantic tarpon68
- Gray snapper66
- Spanish mackerel64
- Crevalle jack63
- Black drum59
- Gag grouper59
- King mackerel59
- Gray triggerfish55
- Permit55
- Red grouper55
- Red snapper55
- Cobia54
- Southern flounder54
- Florida pompano52
- Greater amberjack52
- Spotted seatrout45
- Yellowfin tuna45
- Wahoo41
- Mahi-mahi40
- Sailfish36
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 6 PM · Sailfish
- Now
- 365 PM EDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.0 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
90Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
58Wind: 2 kt NNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
43Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.4 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
Cape San Blas Shoals
- Depth
- 10-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · 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 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 Atlantic croaker, red drum and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, crevalle jack and black drum. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Bay San Blas70
Bay · 4.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 70
- Atlantic croaker 69
- Atlantic tarpon 69
2 kt NNWL 8:59 PM · 0.5 ftH 4:50 AM · 1.5 ft
- Lighthouse Bayou67
Bay · 2.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 67
- Atlantic tarpon 65
- Atlantic croaker 62
2 kt NNWL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:00 AM · 1.2 ft
- Pig Bayou67
Bay · 3.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 67
- Atlantic tarpon 65
- Atlantic croaker 62
2 kt NNWL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:00 AM · 1.2 ft
- Cape San Blas66
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 66
- Atlantic tarpon 65
- Spanish mackerel 63
2 kt NNWL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:00 AM · 1.2 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.