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SailfishRetention openBar · Florida
Suwannee Reef
29.27°N · 83.18°W · Bar · Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Florida pompano72
- Red drum72
- Black drum69
- Red snapper68
- Spanish mackerel68
- Spotted seatrout68
- King mackerel66
- Gray snapper65
- Gray triggerfish65
- Red grouper65
- Sheepshead63
- Wahoo48
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Mahi-mahi35
- Permit35
- Sailfish35
- Yellowfin tuna35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · Sailfish
- Now
- 352 AM EST
- Best window
- 3-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Suwannee Reef 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
Tuesday, Nov 3 · 7 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
51Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
64Wind: 8 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
81Water temp: 74°F, coolLight: DawnSolunar: Major periodSeas: 1.7 ftSeason & habitat · Sailfish
Species seasonality
52Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of range
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 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 (5 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- 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
Out of season for Sailfish · it leaves in 5 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Suwannee Reef
- Depth
- 5-8 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Reef · Outer · Semi-exposedReef · 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 Suwannee Reef
Suwannee Reef is a bar in Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 5-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads reef, outer water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, red drum and black drum. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, red drum, Spanish mackerel and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for black drum, red snapper, king mackerel and gray snapper. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November. Black drum peak from February through April.
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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Ranch Bar Gap72
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 72
- Red drum 69
- Spotted seatrout 69
9 kt ENEH 5:18 AM · 3.4 ftL 1:10 PM · 0.3 ft
- Halfmoon Reef72
Bar · 2.0 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 72
- Red drum 72
- Black drum 70
9 kt ENEH 5:18 AM · 3.4 ftL 1:10 PM · 0.3 ft
- Wadley Pass72
Channel · 2.6 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 72
- Spanish mackerel 72
- Red drum 69
9 kt ENEH 5:18 AM · 3.4 ftL 1:10 PM · 0.3 ft
- White Shell Bar Gap72
Channel · 2.7 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 72
- Black drum 68
- Red drum 68
9 kt ENEH 5:18 AM · 3.4 ftL 1:10 PM · 0.3 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.