Doctrine · not a honey-hole list

Seasonal fundamentals

When a coast, a type of water, and a fish actually line up. If you elected Texas on the list, this page opens on Texas — Seychelles stays off the board until you ask for it. Filter by region, method or habitat, and species. The year bar is peak versus present. Limits cite TPWD and FWC — verify before you keep one.

Bahamas

Bahamas — bonefish country

Winter singles. Summer schools. Permit on the west sides when it lays down.

Andros is the capital — west-side white sand, schools by the acre, double-digit singles in the creeks, tarpon in the bights, permit May through October on the west side and outer cays. Abaco is Marls and ocean cays; verify what is actually running after Dorian. Grand Bahama is the thinking wade, a town to sleep in, big singles on foot. Eleuthera and the Exuma edge take more weather and give you more permit. Tides here are a modeled lunar clock, labeled as such — there is no NOAA gauge on these islands. Flats licensing has been tightening; verify before you wade. Jacks will find you. They are not why you booked the week.

November. Winter singles begin. This is why people book Andros in November. Long leaders. Soft landings. Fewer boats.

Type

Marsh & drains

Marsh wants moving water. Flood the grass, drain the creek. On the Texas coast the wind often moves more water than the printed tide — observed minus predicted is the real story. Sabine and Galveston dump after a blow. Flamingo is the Florida version: reds and snook in the backcountry, not on the oceanside. If the table says incoming and the marsh is emptying, believe the marsh.

November · peak

What is actually on

Bonefish

Greater amberjack

Peak Present Off

Closures

No coast-wide harvest closure on the board. Still verify before you keep a fish.

Nothing lines up.

That filter combination is empty — wrong coast for the fish, or the fish is not present in November. Clear the filters.

Want this week’s weather on top of the doctrine? Read the Saturday Letter.