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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.

All coastsTexasLouisianaFloridaBahamasMexicoPuerto RicoSeychelles
Any typeFlySpinSightWadeSkiffRocksMarshSkinnyOffshore
Any fishRedfishSpeckled troutSouthern flounderBlack drumSheepsheadSnookTarponBonefishPermitJack crevalleMahi-mahiSailfishTuna (blackfin / yellowfin)HogfishYellowtail snapperMangrove / gray snapperMutton snapperRed snapperLane snapperGag grouperRed grouperBlack grouperCobiaFlorida pompanoTripletailKing mackerelSpanish mackerelGreater amberjackWahooBlue marlinWhite marlinStriped marlinSwordfishGreat barracudaRoosterfishGiant trevally
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

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.

May. West-side permit turn on. Bones still school. This is the grand-slam calendar month if the wind allows the fly.

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.

May · peak

What is actually on

    TarponBonefishPermitHogfishYellowtail snapperMangrove / gray snapperMutton snapperBlack grouperGreater 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 May. Clear the filters.

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