Waterlands

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Yellowfin tunaOff season

Channel · Georgia

Saint Marys Entrance

30.71°N · 81.43°W · Channel · Coastal waters from Altamaha Sound to Fernandina Beach FL out 20 NM

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Best score today · 3 AM · Yellowfin tuna

82/100Great
Now
343 PM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.9 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score34Fair
Tide2.9 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.8 kn · toward W
Wind12 kn NEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.3 ft · 5 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy100% chance of rain
Water84°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Yellowfin tuna 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 Retention open (1 per day)
  • 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 (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Yellowfin tuna is best here

Out of season for Yellowfin tuna · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks

Yellowfin tuna season by week of the year. Out of season for Yellowfin tuna · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Yellowfin tuna in Georgia

Spot profile

Saint Marys Entrance

Depth
30-60 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Outer · ExposedChannel · slope
Season
Off seasonYellowfin tuna

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 Saint Marys Entrance

Saint Marys Entrance is a channel in Coastal waters from Altamaha Sound to Fernandina Beach FL out 20 NM, Georgia. Depth is 30-60 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 28 species here; the best right now are crevalle jack, king mackerel and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for crevalle jack, king mackerel, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for black sea bass, Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and gray triggerfish. Crevalle jack peak from July through October. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October.

Tackle & technique

Yellowfin tuna
Yellowfin feed in blue water along canyon edges, the shelf break, current edges, deepwater platforms and FADs, usually from the surface to about 300 feet. Troll ballyhoo, spreader bars and cedar plugs early in the day, then chunk butterfish or sardines, fish live hardtails, or drop jigs to marks. Around Gulf platforms and in the canyons the night bite on chunks and jigs is often better than the day.
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.
King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Old Town Reach

    Channel · 2.6 mi

    71
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 71
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Gray snapper 66

    12 kt NEH 7:17 PM · 6.7 ftL 1:21 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Seaboard Reach

    Channel · 3.0 mi

    71
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 71
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Gray snapper 66

    12 kt NEH 7:17 PM · 6.7 ftL 1:21 AM · 1.1 ft

  • City Front Reach

    Channel · 3.6 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Crevalle jack 66
    • Spot 65

    12 kt NEH 7:17 PM · 6.7 ftL 1:21 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Saint Marys Entrance

    Channel · 0.1 mi

    68
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 68
    • King mackerel 64
    • Atlantic croaker 63

    12 kt NEH 6:41 PM · 6.4 ftL 1:18 AM · 1.1 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.