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SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 358 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8-10 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cape Florida 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
Sunday, Sep 27 · 2 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
68Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.9 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
93Wind: 2 kt WNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
44Water temp: 86°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeas: 2.0 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
20Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Poor fitDepth: 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 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 Sheepshead is best here
Out of season for Sheepshead · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cape Florida
- Depth
- 7-20 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · 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 Cape Florida
Cape Florida is a cape in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 7-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, gray snapper and red drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September 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.
- Crevalle jack
- Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Cape Florida Anchorage76
Channel · 0.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Crevalle jack 74
- Atlantic tarpon 73
3 kt ENEL 11:22 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:01 AM · 2.0 ft
- Cape Florida Channel76
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Atlantic tarpon 73
- Crevalle jack 72
3 kt ENEL 11:22 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:01 AM · 2.0 ft
- Biscayne Channel76
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Atlantic tarpon 73
- Crevalle jack 72
3 kt ENEL 11:22 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:01 AM · 2.0 ft
- South Basin74
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 74
- Crevalle jack 71
- Atlantic tarpon 68
3 kt ENEL 12:16 AM · 1.0 ftH 5:34 AM · 2.0 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.