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PermitRetention 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 croaker66
- Florida pompano64
- Red drum60
- Spanish mackerel55
- Gray snapper54
- Atlantic tarpon53
- Crevalle jack51
- Gag grouper47
- King mackerel47
- Black drum44
- Gray triggerfish44
- Red grouper44
- Cobia43
- Permit43
- Red snapper43
- Southern flounder43
- Greater amberjack42
- Yellowfin tuna42
- Sailfish40
- Mahi-mahi38
- Wahoo38
- Sheepshead34
- Spotted seatrout33
Best score today · 6 PM · Permit
- Now
- 432 PM EDT
- Best window
- 3-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.7 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 · 2 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
62Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.0 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
78Wind: 7 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
52Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.6 ftSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
40Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Permit
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Slot 11 to 22 in, fork length. One fish over 22 inches allowed per person, counted in the bag limit.
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- No more than 2 permit over 22 inches per vessel. Hook and line only in state waters. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Outside the Special Permit Zone. Open year-round.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Permit, Florida pompano and African pompano, 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)
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Permit is best here
Shoulder season for Permit · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Horseshoe Cove
- Depth
- 1-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonPermit
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, 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
- Permit
- Permit cruise flat edges and channels in 2 to 6 feet of water in the Keys and Biscayne Bay, and school over wrecks and reefs in 30 to 120 feet, especially during the spring spawn. A live or artificial crab is the standard bait, cast ahead of a tailing fish on the flats or dropped to a school on a wreck. They spook easily in shallow water, so good light and a long, quiet cast are needed.
- 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
- Cape Saint George67
Cape · 1.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 67
- Florida pompano 64
- Red drum 59
7 kt ENEL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ftH 3:56 AM · 1.7 ft
- Cape Saint George Shoal67
Bar · 3.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 67
- Florida pompano 64
- Red drum 59
7 kt ENEL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ftH 3:56 AM · 1.7 ft
- Pilot Cove66
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Florida pompano 64
- Red drum 63
7 kt ENEL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ftH 3:56 AM · 1.7 ft
- Higgins Shoal66
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Florida pompano 64
- Red drum 60
7 kt ENEL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ftH 3:56 AM · 1.7 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.