Waterlands

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SpotRetention open

Bar · Florida

Chester Shoal

28.59°N · 80.54°W · Bar · Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

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Best score today · 8 PM · Spot

75/100Great
Now
729 AM EDT
Best window
2 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.2 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 · 76

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score72Great
Tide2.2 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward ENE
Wind5 kn Ngusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.2 ft · 8 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy82% cloud
Water83°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

Chester Shoal

Depth
20-25 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · 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 Chester Shoal

Chester Shoal is a bar in Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 20-25 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and king mackerel. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, king mackerel and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, black drum, black sea bass and gray triggerfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October.

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 →
  • Jack Davis Cut

    Channel · 4.4 mi

    82
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 82
    • Common snook 79
    • Atlantic tarpon 79

    5 kt NL 11:57 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ft

  • Pintail Creek

    Bay · 4.1 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Spot 77
    • Crevalle jack 76

    5 kt NL 11:57 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ft

  • Bluebill Creek

    Bay · 4.3 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Spot 77
    • Crevalle jack 76

    5 kt NL 11:57 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ft

  • False Cape

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    74
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 74
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • King mackerel 72

    5 kt NL 11:57 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:07 PM · 4.1 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.