UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Mahi-mahiRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker74
- Spot72
- Atlantic tarpon63
- Common snook62
- Crevalle jack59
- Summer flounder58
- Gray snapper57
- Red drum57
- Southern flounder56
- King mackerel54
- Weakfish53
- Florida pompano51
- Black drum49
- Black sea bass47
- Red snapper47
- Spotted seatrout47
- Spanish mackerel45
- Gray triggerfish44
- Little tunny44
- Red grouper44
- Cobia42
- Wahoo42
- Sheepshead41
- Greater amberjack38
- Mahi-mahi38
- Bluefish35
- Yellowfin tuna35
- Sailfish32
- Gag grouper20
Best score today · 8 AM · Mahi-mahi
- Now
- 385 AM EDT
- Best window
- 2 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding3.2 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bessie Cove 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
57Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 4 kt SSEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
34Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.1 ftSeason & habitat · Mahi-mahi
Species seasonality
65Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
Mahi-mahi
Retention open- Daily limit
- 5 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 20 in, fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Captain and crew may not keep a bag limit. Private boats: 5 per person or 30 per vessel, whichever is less. For-hire vessels: 5 per paying customer; no 30-fish cap. Hook and line or spearing.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Dolphinfish/Mahi-Mahi, read Sep 13
Other species 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)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Catch & release (No retention)
- 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 (2 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 Mahi-mahi is best here
Shoulder season for Mahi-mahi · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Bessie Cove
- Depth
- 2-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonMahi-mahi
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 Bessie Cove
Bessie Cove is a bay in Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 2-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic tarpon and common snook, and shoulder season for weakfish, Florida pompano, black drum and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Mahi-mahi
- Mahi feed near the surface along weedlines, floating debris, buoys and current edges offshore, in water from the low 70s to the low 80s. Troll ballyhoo or small skirted lures along the weed, and when a school comes up behind the boat keep one hooked fish in the water while you pitch cut bait or jigs to the rest. Look for birds working over weed and flotsam.
- 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.
- Spot
- Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Saint Lucie Inlet75
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season- Atlantic tarpon 75
- Common snook 74
- Atlantic croaker 71
4 kt SSEH 6:39 AM · 1.9 ftL 12:26 PM · 0.3 ft
- Negro Cove74
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Spot 72
- Atlantic tarpon 63
4 kt SSEH 5:45 AM · 3.3 ftL 12:06 PM · 0.8 ft
- Baker Point69
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Spot 66
- Atlantic tarpon 63
4 kt SSEH 5:45 AM · 3.3 ftL 12:06 PM · 0.8 ft
- North Point66
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Common snook 66
- Atlantic tarpon 66
4 kt SSEH 6:39 AM · 1.9 ftL 12:26 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.