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Atlantic tarponCatch & releaseSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 PM · Atlantic tarpon
- Now
- 545 PM EST
- Best window
- 7-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High1.3 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Midnight Pass 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
Wednesday, Nov 4 · 9 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.4 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
79Water temp: 80°F, primeLight: MorningSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 1.8 ftSeason & habitat · Atlantic tarpon
Species seasonality
72Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
Tarpon
Catch & release- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Tarpon over 40 inches must stay in the water. Special gear rules apply year-round in Boca Grande Pass. Hook and line only. No snagging, snatch hooking, spearing, or multiple hooks with natural bait. Applies in state and federal waters of the Gulf and Atlantic.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Tarpon, 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))
- 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 (50 per day)
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Atlantic tarpon is best here
Shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon · 16 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Midnight Pass
- Depth
- 1-3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonAtlantic tarpon
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 Midnight Pass
Midnight Pass is a channel in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are common snook, Florida pompano and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook, crevalle jack, red drum and king mackerel, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Florida pompano peak from December through March. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Linderman Creek69
Gut · 3.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 69
- Crevalle jack 65
- Red drum 64
10 kt ESEL 12:07 AM · 0.5 ftH 5:55 AM · 1.1 ft
- Cutter Bank65
Bar · 2.9 mi
Top: Florida pompanoShoulder season- Florida pompano 65
- King mackerel 57
- Common snook 56
10 kt ESEL 12:10 AM · 0.4 ftH 5:38 AM · 1.5 ft
- Mangrove Point58
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: Florida pompanoShoulder season- Florida pompano 58
- Common snook 56
- Crevalle jack 53
7 kt ESEL 11:44 PM · 0.5 ftH 5:45 AM · 1.3 ft
- Turtle Point58
Cape · 2.9 mi
Top: Florida pompanoShoulder season- Florida pompano 58
- Common snook 56
- Crevalle jack 53
7 kt ESEL 11:50 PM · 0.7 ftH 5:15 AM · 1.9 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.