UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
SailfishRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker74
- Spot71
- Atlantic tarpon70
- Common snook69
- Crevalle jack68
- Gray snapper66
- Red drum64
- Summer flounder64
- Southern flounder62
- King mackerel60
- Weakfish59
- Black drum55
- Black sea bass55
- Red snapper55
- Little tunny53
- Spotted seatrout53
- Gray triggerfish52
- Red grouper52
- Florida pompano51
- Spanish mackerel51
- Sheepshead50
- Cobia49
- Greater amberjack47
- Wahoo42
- Mahi-mahi38
- Bluefish35
- Yellowfin tuna35
- Sailfish30
- Gag grouper20
Best score today · 8 AM · Sailfish
- Now
- 303 AM EDT
- Best window
- 2 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Negro 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 · 3 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
80Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
78Wind: 3 kt SSEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
42Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.1 ftSeason & habitat · Sailfish
Species seasonality
36Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade 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 (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
- 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 Sailfish is best here
Out of season for Sailfish · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Negro Cove
- Depth
- 2-7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · 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 Negro Cove
Negro Cove is a bay in Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 2-7 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, black drum, black sea bass and red snapper. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon 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.
- 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
- Bessie Cove74
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Spot 71
- Atlantic tarpon 70
3 kt SSEH 5:45 AM · 3.3 ftL 12:06 PM · 0.8 ft
- Baker Point70
Cape · 0.1 mi
Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season- Atlantic tarpon 70
- Common snook 69
- Atlantic croaker 68
3 kt SSEH 5:45 AM · 3.3 ftL 12:06 PM · 0.8 ft
- Gilbert Shoal70
Bar · 1.7 mi
Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season- Atlantic tarpon 70
- Atlantic croaker 68
- Gray snapper 66
3 kt SSEH 5:45 AM · 3.3 ftL 12:06 PM · 0.8 ft
- Steele Point68
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season- Atlantic tarpon 68
- Common snook 67
- Atlantic croaker 65
3 kt SSEH 7:18 AM · 1.3 ftL 1:32 PM · 0.1 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.