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Crevalle jackRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Crevalle jack
- Now
- 479 PM CDT
- Best window
- 9-10 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.2 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Dons Bayou 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
Monday, Oct 5 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 4 kt SSWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
82Water temp: 85°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Crevalle jack
Species seasonality
62Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Crevalle jack
Retention open- Daily limit
- Not published
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Two fish or 100 pounds per person per day, whichever is more. Crevalle jack is an unregulated species with this default limit. Hook and line, spears, gigs, haul seines and cast nets.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: "Unregulated" Species, read Sep 13
Other species here
- Atlantic croaker Retention open
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (10 per day)
- Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
- Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
- Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
- Gag grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
- 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
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Crevalle jack is best here
Shoulder season for Crevalle jack · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Dons Bayou
- Depth
- 6-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCrevalle jack
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 Dons Bayou
Dons Bayou is a bay in Western Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 6-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic croaker and southern flounder. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for southern flounder, Atlantic tarpon, black drum and crevalle jack. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Southern flounder peak from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Garmier Bayou63
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 63
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Southern flounder 57
1 kt NWL 10:02 PM · 0.2 ftH 12:50 PM · 0.5 ft
- Poquito Bayou63
Bay · 1.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 63
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Southern flounder 57
1 kt NWL 10:02 PM · 0.2 ftH 12:50 PM · 0.5 ft
- Hand Cove61
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 61
- Gray snapper 60
- Red drum 60
1 kt NWL 10:02 PM · 0.2 ftH 12:50 PM · 0.5 ft
- Paradise Point56
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 56
- Atlantic croaker 55
- Gray snapper 55
1 kt NWL 10:02 PM · 0.2 ftH 12:50 PM · 0.5 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.