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Tom Maher Reef (BA0191)

Artificial reef Bay County, Florida, Gulf side. 4 Walter Florida Special Modules Funded by MBARA.

Latitude29° 46.994' N
Longitude85° 50.002' W
Decimal29.78323, -85.83336
Depth115 ft
Relief10 ft
MaterialReefmaker Florida Special (4)
Weight8 tons
DeployedJanuary 11, 2005
WaterFederal

What bites on Tom Maher Reef

Structure in 115 ft on the Gulf coast usually holds: Red snapper, Red grouper, Vermilion snapper, Amberjack, Scamp. What is actually biting changes with the season, water temperature and tide — the day's plan for this reef has the bite window and what to target that day.

Anchoring on Tom Maher Reef

In 115 ft, pay out about 595 ft of rode at 5:1 in calm water, or 833 ft at 7:1 when it's blowing. Drop the anchor up-drift of the structure by about the same distance and fall back onto it. Before you drop, kill the engine for 60 seconds and watch your GPS track — that's your real drift, and it beats any forecast.

Fishing Tom Maher Reef this week?Get the plan for it: GO / NO-GO for your boat, the bite window on the tide, rigs, bait and the rotation list of nearby reefs.
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Today's fishing report near Tom Maher Reef

Panama City Beach fishing report — today: tides, wind, seas, water temperature and the GO / NO-GO call for inshore and offshore, updated through the day. Also nearby: Apalachicola fishing report (51 mi).

Nearby reefs

ReefDistanceHeadingDepth
Steel Dredge Boat BA01830.3 miS115 ft
MBARA-LAARS-2 BA01921.2 miW115 ft
BC NRDA Reef #30 BA05901.4 miNE116 ft
MB-82 BA02101.5 miSW124 ft
MBARA-LAARS-4 BA01941.5 miSW115 ft

Before you go

Size limits, bag limits and seasons change — check the current Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) rules for the day you fish, and federal rules, since this reef is in federal water. Carry a descending device for reef fish you release.