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Florida pompanoPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 747 AM CST
- Best window
- 7-9 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High0.4 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bellville Bay scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
74Tide: High slackCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 3 kt NNEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
90Water temp: 77°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 1.1 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Florida pompano
Retention open- Daily limit
- 6 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 11 in, fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, and beach or haul seine only. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round in state and federal waters.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Permit, Florida pompano and African pompano, read Sep 13
Other species here
- Atlantic croaker Retention open
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (10 per day)
- Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
- Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
- Crevalle jack Retention open
- Gag grouper Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Red snapper Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Florida pompano is best here
Peak season for Florida pompano · 3 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Bellville Bay
- Depth
- 6-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonFlorida pompano
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 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 Bellville Bay
Bellville Bay is a bay in Perdido Bay Area, Alabama. Depth is 6-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and southern flounder. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, southern flounder and red drum, and shoulder season for black drum, gray snapper, sheepshead and king mackerel. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Southern flounder peak from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
- Southern flounder
- Flounder lie half buried on soft bottom along marsh edges, creek mouths, dock pilings and the sandy sides of passes, usually in 1 to 15 feet of water. Drag a mud minnow or finger mullet on a Carolina rig, or bump a soft plastic slowly along the bottom, and give the fish a few seconds before setting the hook. In fall the adults stack up at passes and jetties on their way offshore, and many anglers gig them at night in knee-deep water.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Old River74
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 74
- Spanish mackerel 64
- Southern flounder 61
3 kt NNEL 12:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:10 PM · 0.6 ft
- Goat Bayou70
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 70
- Southern flounder 65
- Red drum 62
3 kt NNEL 12:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:10 PM · 0.6 ft
- Old River70
Gut · 0.9 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 70
- Southern flounder 65
- Spotted seatrout 63
3 kt NNEL 12:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:10 PM · 0.6 ft
- Goat Point70
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 70
- Spanish mackerel 59
- Gag grouper 58
3 kt NNEL 12:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:10 PM · 0.6 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.