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Yellowfin tunaShoulder seasonBay · Florida
Pilot Cove
29.60°N · 85.02°W · Bay · Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum73
- Atlantic croaker70
- Atlantic tarpon68
- Gray snapper64
- Crevalle jack62
- Permit62
- Spanish mackerel62
- Southern flounder61
- Black drum60
- Gag grouper60
- King mackerel57
- Red snapper56
- Gray triggerfish55
- Red grouper55
- Spotted seatrout54
- Cobia52
- Florida pompano50
- Greater amberjack50
- Yellowfin tuna46
- Wahoo42
- Mahi-mahi41
- Sailfish36
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 12 AM · Yellowfin tuna
- Now
- 466 PM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.9 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Pilot 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 · 6 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
84Wind: 1 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
63Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.3 ftSeason & habitat · Yellowfin tuna
Species seasonality
62Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
No rule for Yellowfin tuna is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with FWC before you keep a fish.
Species rules 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)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Yellowfin tuna is best here
Shoulder season for Yellowfin tuna · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Pilot Cove
- Depth
- 1-3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonYellowfin tuna
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 Pilot Cove
Pilot Cove is a bay in Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-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, crevalle jack, permit and Spanish mackerel. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
Tackle & technique
- Yellowfin tuna
- Yellowfin feed in blue water along canyon edges, the shelf break, current edges, deepwater platforms and FADs, usually from the surface to about 300 feet. Troll ballyhoo, spreader bars and cedar plugs early in the day, then chunk butterfish or sardines, fish live hardtails, or drop jigs to marks. Around Gulf platforms and in the canyons the night bite on chunks and jigs is often better than the day.
- 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
- Horseshoe Cove70
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 70
- Atlantic tarpon 68
1 kt ENEL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ftH 3:56 AM · 1.7 ft
- Higgins Shoal70
Bar · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 70
- Atlantic tarpon 68
1 kt ENEL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ftH 3:56 AM · 1.7 ft
- Cape Saint George70
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 70
- Atlantic tarpon 68
1 kt ENEL 9:03 PM · 0.5 ftH 3:56 AM · 1.7 ft
- Cape Saint George Shoal70
Bar · 3.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 70
- Atlantic tarpon 68
1 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.