Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Bar · Florida

Walter L Hudson, Junior Artificial Reef

28.32°N · 80.55°W · Bar · Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

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Best score today · 3 PM · Little tunny

74/100Great
Now
537 AM EDT
Best window
2 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.2 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score53Good
Tide3.2 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward N
Wind1 kn WSWgusts 3 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 8 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherOvercast91% cloud
Water83°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)

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

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

Walter L Hudson, Junior Artificial Reef

Depth
40-45 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Reef · Outer · ExposedReef · 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 Walter L Hudson, Junior Artificial Reef

Walter L Hudson, Junior Artificial Reef is a bar in Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 40-45 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads reef, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and king mackerel. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper, king mackerel and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for gray triggerfish, red snapper, black sea bass and red grouper. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October.

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.
Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Shortys Pocket

    Bay · 4.1 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Spot 73
    • Crevalle jack 68

    1 kt WSWL 12:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 6:09 PM · 4.1 ft

  • Shortys Banks

    Bar · 4.6 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Spot 67
    • Common snook 66

    1 kt WSWL 12:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 6:09 PM · 4.1 ft

  • Sprig Point

    Cape · 4.7 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Red drum 70
    • Southern flounder 69

    1 kt WSWL 12:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 6:09 PM · 4.1 ft

  • Shell Point

    Cape · 5.0 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Spot 67
    • Common snook 66

    1 kt WSWL 11:48 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:12 PM · 4.0 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.