Waterlands

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Yellowfin tunaOff season

Bay · Florida

Kitching Cove

27.25°N · 80.32°W · Bay · Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm

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Best score today · 8 AM · Yellowfin tuna

76/100Great
Now
353 PM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.6 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: Thu · 79

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide0.6 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward WNW
Wind5 kn Egusts 13 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.2 ft · 7 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherOvercast97% chance of rain
Water86°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 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)
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
  • Off
  • This week

Yellowfin tuna in Florida →

Spot profile

Kitching Cove

Depth
7-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
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 Kitching Cove

Kitching Cove is a bay in Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 7-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack and common snook, and shoulder season for little tunny, black sea bass, Spanish mackerel and weakfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September. Crevalle jack peak from July 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.
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.
Atlantic tarpon
Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Fork Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    66
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 66
    • Common snook 64
    • Atlantic croaker 60

    5 kt EL 4:09 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:41 PM · 1.3 ft

  • Greenridge Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    66
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 66
    • Common snook 64
    • Atlantic croaker 60

    5 kt EL 4:09 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:41 PM · 1.3 ft

  • Pendarvis Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    66
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 66
    • Common snook 64
    • Atlantic croaker 60

    5 kt EL 4:09 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:41 PM · 1.3 ft

  • Bessey Creek Point

    Cape · 2.8 mi

    66
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 66
    • Common snook 64
    • Atlantic croaker 60

    5 kt EL 4:09 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:41 PM · 1.3 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.