Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Bay · Florida

Mathers Cove

27.89°N · 80.47°W · Bay · Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 PM · Little tunny

76/100Great
Now
461 PM EDT
Best window
7-9 PMHigh slack
Tide now
Low0.4 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: Fri · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score46Good
Tide0.4 ftLow
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind5 kn NEgusts 13 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.2 ft · 7 s
Air temp84°Hot
WeatherOvercast85% 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 Little tunny 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 Little tunny is best here

Shoulder season for Little tunny · 1 more week at shoulder

Little tunny season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Little tunny · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Little tunny in Florida →

Spot profile

Mathers Cove

Depth
3-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonLittle tunny

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 Mathers Cove

Mathers Cove is a bay in Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 3-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, crevalle jack, Atlantic tarpon and common snook, and shoulder season for wahoo, weakfish, black sea bass and little tunny. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
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.
Crevalle jack
Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Long Point Creek

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 64
    • Atlantic croaker 61
    • Crevalle jack 60

    5 kt NEL 3:00 PM · 0.4 ftH 8:27 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Mud Hole

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 64
    • Atlantic croaker 61
    • Crevalle jack 60

    5 kt NEL 3:00 PM · 0.4 ftH 8:27 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Pepper Cove

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    61
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 61
    • Crevalle jack 60
    • Atlantic tarpon 59

    5 kt NEL 3:00 PM · 0.4 ftH 8:27 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Pepper Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    59
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 59
    • Common snook 58
    • Atlantic croaker 55

    5 kt NEL 3:00 PM · 0.4 ftH 8:27 PM · 0.4 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.