Waterlands

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Yellowfin tunaOff season

Channel · Florida

Matanzas Inlet

29.71°N · 81.23°W · Channel · Coastal waters from St. Augustine to Flagler Beach FL out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Yellowfin tuna

83/100Great
Now
352 PM EDT
Best window
2 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding1.1 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: Fri · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide1.1 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward SSW
Wind10 kn NEgusts 22 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp82°Warm
WeatherOvercast92% chance of rain
Water83°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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 (50 per day)
  • Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
  • Bluefish Retention open (3 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 (10 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
  • Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
  • Red snapper Check regulations
  • 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 (50 per day)
  • 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Yellowfin tuna is best here

Out of season for Yellowfin tuna · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks

Yellowfin tuna season by week of the year. Out of season for Yellowfin tuna · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
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Yellowfin tuna in Florida →

Spot profile

Matanzas Inlet

Depth
1-10 ftSlope
Structure
Inlet · Outer · ExposedInlet · slope
Season
Off 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 Matanzas Inlet

Matanzas Inlet is a channel in Coastal waters from St. Augustine to Flagler Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 1-10 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads inlet, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 28 species here; the best right now are crevalle jack, Atlantic croaker and king mackerel. It is peak season now for crevalle jack, Atlantic croaker, king mackerel and summer flounder, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, black sea bass and black drum. Crevalle jack peak from July through October. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October.

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.
Crevalle jack
Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
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

View all on map →
  • Fox Cut

    Channel · 12 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Crevalle jack 72
    • Spot 72

    10 kt NEL 5:42 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:50 PM · 1.0 ft

  • French Cape

    Cape · 14 mi

    67
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 67
    • Atlantic croaker 66
    • King mackerel 65

    7 kt NEH 7:01 PM · 4.9 ftL 1:15 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Devils Elbow

    Bend · 2.8 mi

    62
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 62
    • Crevalle jack 61
    • King mackerel 58

    10 kt NEH 7:57 PM · 4.8 ftL 2:22 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Murat Point

    Cape · 5.3 mi

    59
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 59
    • Atlantic croaker 57
    • King mackerel 56

    10 kt NEH 7:57 PM · 4.8 ftL 2:22 AM · 0.9 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.