UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 432 PM EST
- Best window
- 4-7 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High2.5 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cape Florida Anchorage 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
Saturday, Nov 14 · 4 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
92Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt SSEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
59Water temp: 83°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
71Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In range
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 Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open (50 per day)
- 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 Sheepshead is best here
Shoulder season for Sheepshead · 13 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cape Florida Anchorage
- Depth
- 15-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · slope
- Season
- Shoulder 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 Cape Florida Anchorage
Cape Florida Anchorage is a channel in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 15-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, common snook and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook, crevalle jack, king mackerel and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon and black drum. Florida pompano peak from December through March. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November.
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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- South Basin63
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 63
- Crevalle jack 60
- Florida pompano 60
7 kt EL 9:12 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:52 AM · 2.3 ft
- Cape Florida61
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: Florida pompanoShoulder season- Florida pompano 61
- Common snook 56
- Crevalle jack 55
7 kt EL 8:18 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:19 AM · 2.4 ft
- Cape Florida Channel58
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 58
- Crevalle jack 56
- Florida pompano 56
7 kt EL 8:18 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:19 AM · 2.4 ft
- Biscayne Channel58
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 58
- Crevalle jack 56
- Florida pompano 56
7 kt EL 8:18 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:19 AM · 2.4 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.