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SailfishRetention openBay · Florida
South Blind Creek
28.66°N · 82.66°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum71
- Common snook69
- Atlantic croaker68
- Gray snapper64
- Southern flounder63
- Atlantic tarpon61
- Black drum58
- Permit57
- Crevalle jack56
- Spanish mackerel55
- Gag grouper53
- Red snapper53
- Spotted seatrout53
- Gray triggerfish50
- King mackerel50
- Red grouper50
- Cobia47
- Yellowfin tuna46
- Florida pompano44
- Greater amberjack44
- Sailfish43
- Mahi-mahi36
- Sheepshead35
- Wahoo35
Best score today · 11 PM · Sailfish
- Now
- 435 AM EDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.0 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when South Blind Creek 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 · 5 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
76Tide: EbbingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 2 kt EPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
44Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Sailfish
Species seasonality
61Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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 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))
- 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 (5 per day)
- Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Sailfish is best here
Shoulder season for Sailfish · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
South Blind Creek
- Depth
- Under 1 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder 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 South Blind Creek
South Blind Creek is a bay in Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is under 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are red drum, common snook and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for southern flounder, Atlantic tarpon, black drum and permit. Red drum peak from September through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.
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.
- 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.
- Common snook
- Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Haulover Creek71
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 71
- Common snook 69
- Atlantic croaker 68
2 kt EL 7:34 AM · 0.4 ftH 1:59 PM · 2.1 ft
- Chassahowitzka Bay71
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 71
- Common snook 70
- Atlantic croaker 69
2 kt EL 7:34 AM · 0.4 ftH 1:59 PM · 2.1 ft
- Chassahowitzka Reefs71
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 71
- Common snook 70
- Atlantic croaker 69
2 kt EL 7:34 AM · 0.4 ftH 1:59 PM · 2.1 ft
- North Blind Creek70
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 70
- Common snook 69
- Atlantic croaker 68
2 kt EL 7:34 AM · 0.4 ftH 1:59 PM · 2.1 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.