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Mahi-mahiRetention openBay · Florida
Horseshoe Cove
29.60°N · 85.03°W · Bay · Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker70
- Florida pompano57
- Red drum55
- Atlantic tarpon53
- Gray snapper50
- Spanish mackerel45
- Yellowfin tuna45
- Crevalle jack43
- Gag grouper43
- Red snapper43
- Southern flounder43
- Black drum42
- King mackerel41
- Gray triggerfish39
- Permit39
- Red grouper39
- Cobia37
- Mahi-mahi36
- Sailfish36
- Spotted seatrout35
- Wahoo35
- Greater amberjack34
- Sheepshead29
Best score today · 11 PM · Mahi-mahi
- Now
- 364 AM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- High1.6 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Horseshoe Cove 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 · 4 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
37Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 4 kt NNEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
30Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 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
Horseshoe Cove
- Depth
- 1-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Horseshoe Cove
Horseshoe Cove is a bay in Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 1-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-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, Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel and yellowfin tuna. 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
- 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.
- 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
- Pilot Cove70
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 59
- Florida pompano 57
4 kt NNEL 8:36 AM · 1.4 ftH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ft
- Higgins Shoal70
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Florida pompano 57
- Red drum 55
4 kt NNEL 8:36 AM · 1.4 ftH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ft
- Cape Saint George68
Cape · 1.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Florida pompano 57
- Red drum 54
4 kt NNEL 8:36 AM · 1.4 ftH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ft
- Cape Saint George Shoal68
Bar · 3.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Florida pompano 57
- Red drum 54
4 kt NNEL 8:36 AM · 1.4 ftH 1:37 PM · 1.8 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.