Waterlands

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WahooRetention 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

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Best score today · 6 PM · Wahoo

81/100Great
Now
501 PM EST
Best window
4-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.2 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Nov 9 · 4 PM

Time4P
Score52Good
Tide2.2 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward SSW
Wind6 kn NWgusts 15 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 3 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water75°FModel

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 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))
  • Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish 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)

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Wahoo is best here

Shoulder season for Wahoo · 4 more weeks at shoulder

Wahoo season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Wahoo · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Wahoo in Florida →

Spot profile

Shell Point Cove

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · 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 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 Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and king mackerel. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for king mackerel, gray triggerfish, red grouper and red snapper. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. King mackerel peak in May and in October.

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.
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.
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

  • Shell Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    65
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 65
    • Florida pompano 62
    • King mackerel 62

    12 kt EL 2:18 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:42 PM · 2.0 ft

  • Rattlesnake Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    65
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 65
    • Florida pompano 62
    • King mackerel 62

    12 kt EL 2:18 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:42 PM · 2.0 ft

  • East Cove

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    65
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 65
    • Florida pompano 62
    • King mackerel 62

    12 kt EL 2:18 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:42 PM · 2.0 ft

  • East Pelican Reef

    Bar · 1.7 mi

    65
    Top: King mackerelShoulder season
    • King mackerel 65
    • Spanish mackerel 65
    • Florida pompano 62

    12 kt EL 2:18 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:42 PM · 2.0 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.