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SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 316 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7-11 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.9 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Biscayne 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 · 6 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
43Tide: EbbingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
79Wind: 1 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
44Water temp: 85°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.6 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
32Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
Sheepshead
Retention open- Daily limit
- 8 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 12 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- State rules extend into federal waters. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, seine, spear or gig. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round. A 50-fish vessel limit applies in March and April.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Sheepshead, read Sep 13
Other species here
- Atlantic croaker Retention open (50 per day)
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (3 per day)
- Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
- Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
- Crevalle jack Retention open
- Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
- Gag grouper Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (10 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
- Permit Retention open (1 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
- Red snapper Check regulations
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open (50 per day)
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Sheepshead is best here
Out of season for Sheepshead · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Biscayne Bay
- Depth
- About 10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Off seasonSheepshead
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 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 Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay is a bay in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is about 10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, bonefish and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for bonefish, Atlantic tarpon, permit and red drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Bonefish peak from March through May and from October through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June.
Tackle & technique
- Sheepshead
- Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
- Common snook
- Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
- Bonefish
- Bonefish push onto shallow sand and grass flats with the rising tide to root for shrimp, crabs and clams, often in water under 2 feet deep, and fall back to channel edges and deeper flats as the tide drops. Most fish are sight cast to with a small shrimp or crab fly, a light jig or a live shrimp, which takes bright sun, light wind and a quiet approach. They are catch and release only in Florida, and in Hawaii many anglers also fish bait from shore along sand channels and reef edges.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Safety Valve65
Gut · 4.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 65
- Bonefish 61
- Atlantic tarpon 60
1 kt NEL 12:21 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:09 PM · 2.0 ft
- Deering Bay Channel64
Channel · 4.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Bonefish 63
- Atlantic tarpon 58
4 kt WSWL 12:39 PM · 0.7 ftH 6:43 PM · 2.2 ft
- Black Ledge61
Bar · 1.2 mi
Top: BonefishShoulder season- Bonefish 61
- Common snook 56
- Permit 51
1 kt NEL 12:39 PM · 0.7 ftH 6:43 PM · 2.2 ft
- Featherbed Bank56
Bar · 3.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 56
- Bonefish 53
- Crevalle jack 49
1 kt NEL 1:31 PM · 0.5 ftH 7:04 PM · 1.6 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.