Waterlands

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SpotRetention open

Bay · Florida

Wildcat Cove

27.49°N · 80.31°W · Bay · Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm

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Best score today · 9 AM · Spot

80/100Great
Now
656 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

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Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Wed · 82

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 AM · now

Time6ANOW
Score65Great
Tide1.9 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.8 kn · toward WSW
Wind3 kn SWgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.0 ft · 7 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherOvercast88% cloud
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Spot

Retention open
Daily limit
50 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
50 per person per species. No minimum size. Open year-round.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Spot and Atlantic croaker, 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
  • 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)
  • 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 yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Spot is best here

Peak season for Spot · 5 more weeks at peak

Spot season by week of the year. Peak season for Spot · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

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Spot profile

Wildcat Cove

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonSpot

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

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.
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

View all on map →
  • Saint Lucie Cut

    Channel · 1.0 mi

    76
    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 Cut

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    74
    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 Slough

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    70
    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 Cove

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    67
    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

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.