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Florida pompanoRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 3512 PM EDT
- Best window
- 1-5 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.8 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Biscayne Flats 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 · 12 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
20Tide: Low slackCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt SPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
65Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.8 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
45Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade 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 (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
- 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))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Florida pompano is best here
Out of season for Florida pompano · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Biscayne Flats
- Depth
- 5-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Flat · Outer · ExposedFlat · slope
- Season
- Off seasonFlorida pompano
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 Flats
Biscayne Flats is a bar in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 5-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads flat, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and permit. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, bonefish and red drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June. Permit peak from March through June.
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.
- 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.
- Atlantic tarpon
- Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Biscayne Channel64
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Crevalle jack 61
- Atlantic tarpon 60
5 kt SH 5:50 PM · 2.2 ftL 12:15 AM · 0.9 ft
- Cape Florida Anchorage64
Channel · 2.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Crevalle jack 62
- Atlantic tarpon 60
5 kt SH 5:50 PM · 2.2 ftL 12:15 AM · 0.9 ft
- Cape Florida Channel64
Channel · 2.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Crevalle jack 61
- Atlantic tarpon 60
5 kt SH 5:50 PM · 2.2 ftL 12:15 AM · 0.9 ft
- Cape Florida59
Cape · 2.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 59
- Crevalle jack 56
- Atlantic tarpon 52
5 kt SH 5:50 PM · 2.2 ftL 12:15 AM · 0.9 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.