Waterlands

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Florida pompanoPeak season

Bay · Alabama

Perdido Bay

30.38°N · 87.43°W · Bay · Perdido Bay Area

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Best score today · 6 AM · Florida pompano

78/100Great
Now
649 PM CST
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.2 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Nov 12 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score74Great
Tide0.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood2.5 kn · toward ENE
Wind4 kn ESEgusts 12 · steady
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherClear2% cloud
Water73°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Florida pompano is best here

Peak season for Florida pompano · 3 more weeks at peak

Florida pompano season by week of the year. Peak season for Florida pompano · 3 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Florida pompano in Alabama →

Spot profile

Perdido Bay

Depth
6-9 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 Perdido Bay

Perdido Bay is a bay in Perdido Bay Area, Alabama. Depth is 6-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, Florida pompano and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for red drum, Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and gag grouper, and shoulder season for gray snapper, king mackerel, black drum and sheepshead. Red drum peak from September through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and 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.
Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Old River

    Bay · 6.6 mi

    67
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 67
    • Florida pompano 64
    • Gag grouper 61

    7 kt ENEH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ftL 4:23 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Point Ono

    Cape · 5.4 mi

    63
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 63
    • Gag grouper 61
    • Florida pompano 59

    7 kt ENEH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ftL 4:23 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Chagrin Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    60
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 60
    • Gag grouper 57
    • Florida pompano 56

    7 kt ENEH 7:54 AM · 0.8 ftL 7:23 PM · 0.1 ft

  • Manuel Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    60
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 60
    • Gag grouper 57
    • Florida pompano 56

    7 kt ENEH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ftL 5:29 PM · 0.3 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.