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SailfishRetention openBay · Florida
Wildcat Cove
27.49°N · 80.31°W · Bay · Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker67
- Common snook67
- Atlantic tarpon66
- Spot65
- Crevalle jack63
- Summer flounder62
- Gray snapper60
- Red drum60
- Southern flounder60
- King mackerel59
- Florida pompano56
- Weakfish56
- Spotted seatrout51
- Spanish mackerel50
- Little tunny48
- Cobia47
- Wahoo43
- Black drum42
- Greater amberjack41
- Black sea bass40
- Mahi-mahi38
- Red snapper38
- Gray triggerfish37
- Red grouper36
- Bluefish35
- Yellowfin tuna35
- Sheepshead34
- Sailfish33
- Gag grouper20
Best score today · 9 AM · Sailfish
- Now
- 336 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8-11 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Wildcat 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 · 6 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
51Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.8 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
83Wind: 3 kt SWPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
49Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.0 ftSeason & habitat · Sailfish
Species seasonality
35Off 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
Wildcat Cove
- Depth
- 1-5 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Wildcat Cove
Wildcat Cove is a bay in Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 1-5 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, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, Atlantic tarpon and spot, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, weakfish, Spanish mackerel and little tunny. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Common snook peak from April through May and 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.
- 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
- Saint Lucie Cut76
Channel · 1.0 mi
Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season- Atlantic tarpon 76
- Atlantic croaker 74
- Common snook 74
3 kt SWH 7:06 AM · 1.5 ftL 1:12 PM · 0.2 ft
- Fort Pierce Cut74
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Atlantic tarpon 74
- Common snook 71
3 kt SWH 6:41 AM · 1.9 ftL 12:31 PM · 0.2 ft
- Shortys Slough70
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Spot 68
- Common snook 66
3 kt SWH 6:41 AM · 1.9 ftL 12:31 PM · 0.2 ft
- Tucker Cove67
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 67
- Common snook 67
- Atlantic tarpon 66
3 kt SWH 6:41 AM · 1.9 ftL 12:31 PM · 0.2 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.