Waterlands

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SailfishRetention open

Bay · Florida

Shell Point Cove

29.68°N · 84.80°W · Bay · Coastal Waters From Ochlockonee River to Apalachicola FL out to 20 Nm

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Sailfish

80/100Great
Now
342 AM EST
Best window
6-9 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.0 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: Mon · 83

24-hour conditions

Sunday, Nov 8 · 4 PM

Time4P
Score35Fair
Tide2.2 ftHigh
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SSW
Wind3 kn SEgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy63% cloud
Water75°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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 Closed (No retention)
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
  • 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 Closed (No retention)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Sailfish is best here

Out of season for Sailfish · it leaves in 5 weeks

Sailfish season by week of the year. Out of season for Sailfish · it leaves in 5 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Sailfish in Florida →

Spot profile

Shell Point Cove

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Off 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 Shell Point Cove

Shell Point Cove is a bay in Coastal Waters From Ochlockonee River to Apalachicola FL out to 20 Nm, Florida. Depth is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and red drum. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for king mackerel, red snapper, black drum and gray snapper. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November.

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.
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.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Shell Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    67
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 67
    • Spanish mackerel 60
    • Red drum 59

    11 kt ENEH 5:28 AM · 2.5 ftL 2:18 PM · 0.1 ft

  • Rattlesnake Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    67
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 67
    • Spanish mackerel 60
    • Red drum 59

    11 kt ENEH 5:28 AM · 2.5 ftL 2:18 PM · 0.1 ft

  • East Cove

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    67
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 67
    • Spanish mackerel 60
    • Red drum 59

    11 kt ENEH 5:28 AM · 2.5 ftL 2:18 PM · 0.1 ft

  • East Pelican Reef

    Bar · 1.7 mi

    67
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 67
    • King mackerel 62
    • Red snapper 60

    11 kt ENEH 5:28 AM · 2.5 ftL 2:18 PM · 0.1 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.