Tripletail: season, lures and limits

Showing the fish for Northeast Florida, Jacksonville to Flagler.

Fishing region

Season in Northeast Florida

Peak months: May.

JFMAMJJASOND

FWC Where to Saltwater Fish: tripletail late spring to fall in all four counties. Woodward: tripletail head north each spring once water reaches the mid-60s F and return south in fall, reaching central Florida by November. (Our inference)

Season by region

Charleston	JFMAMJJASOND
Georgia	JFMAMJJASOND
Northeast Florida	JFMAMJJASOND
Space Coast	JFMAMJJASOND
Southeast Florida	JFMAMJJASOND
Big Bend	JFMAMJJASOND
Alabama	JFMAMJJASOND
Mississippi	JFMAMJJASOND
Lower Texas	JFMAMJJASOND

Where to find them

Around buoys, channel markers, pilings and floating debris along the beaches and in the inlets from late spring into fall (FWC, Florida Museum).

Floats at or near the surface, often on its side like a floating leaf, beside buoys, markers, pilings and debris (Florida Museum).

What to look for

A dark shape or a bright white fish lying flat at the surface; dark fins showing beside a float.

What to throw

Popping cork with a soft plastic or live shrimp1/8 to 1/4 oz jighead under the cork oz, About 4 in soft plastic shad or shrimp (Cedar Key used a 4 in Sea Shad). Pop the cork sharply, pause while the bait settles, repeat; with tripletail, cast just past the target and reel back with a small pop.

Bait

Live shrimp, Small menhaden, Finger mullet. Live shrimp under a popping cork with a 1/2 oz trolling weight, about 12 in of 20 lb fluorocarbon and a 1/0 wide-gap or Kahle hook; let the shrimp sit still (Woodward)..

Leader

About 12 to 20 in of 20 lb fluorocarbon (Woodward).

Common mistakes

Casting past the fish and spooking it; land the bait just in front (Carolina Sportsman)
Working the cork; the live shrimp's own movement is enough (Woodward)

Landing

Net it.

Handling

Net and unhook with pliers; support the body.

Keep or release

Marketed fresh, frozen or salted in Florida (Florida Museum). Size and bag rules differ by state; see the regulations file.

Recipes for tripletail

Typical: Average 2.2 to 15.4 lb (Florida Museum); surface fish off Georgia about 12 to 30 in (Woodward). Large: Up to 35 in and 41 lb (Florida Museum).

Limits

FishOS has not checked the FL limits yet. Check the size, bag and season rules with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission before you keep a fish.

Sources

Florida FWC: Where to Saltwater Fish (species and seasons by county, Nassau to Monroe) (Official source)
Salt Water Sportsman (Capt. Spud Woodward, updated May 2025): sight fish tripletail on the Georgia coast (Angler knowledge)
Florida Museum, Discover Fishes: tripletail (Official source)

All the fish of Northeast Florida

Tripletail