Waterlands

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WahooRetention open

Bar · Florida

Cape San Blas Shoals

29.65°N · 85.36°W · Bar · Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 PM · Wahoo

72/100Great
Now
364 AM EDT
Best window
2-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.5 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 · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

Time4ANOW
Score36Fair
Tide1.5 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward W
Wind4 kn NEgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 4 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy77% cloud
Water87°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Wahoo

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
No minimum size. Open year-round.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Wahoo, 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))
  • 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Wahoo is best here

Shoulder season for Wahoo · 1 more week at shoulder

Wahoo season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Wahoo · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Wahoo in Florida →

Spot profile

Cape San Blas Shoals

Depth
10-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonWahoo

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, Florida pompano, black drum and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.

Tackle & technique

Wahoo
Wahoo patrol drop-offs, seamounts, rigs and weed lines where current and temperature breaks meet, usually along the 100 to 600 foot contours. High-speed trolling at 12 to 18 knots with weighted lures covers ground, and slower trolling with ballyhoo or diving plugs works over known structure. Use wire leader, because their teeth cut monofilament.
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

View all on map →
  • Bay San Blas

    Bay · 4.1 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Red drum 61
    • Atlantic tarpon 58

    4 kt NEH 4:42 AM · 1.5 ftL 11:38 AM · 1.2 ft

  • Cape San Blas

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    67
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Red drum 65
    • Atlantic tarpon 63

    4 kt NEH 8:30 AM · 1.8 ftL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Lighthouse Bayou

    Bay · 2.5 mi

    67
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Red drum 67
    • Atlantic tarpon 63

    4 kt NEH 8:30 AM · 1.8 ftL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Pig Bayou

    Bay · 3.7 mi

    67
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Red drum 67
    • Atlantic tarpon 63

    4 kt NEH 8:30 AM · 1.8 ftL 6:27 PM · 0.7 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.