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SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 363 AM EST
- Best window
- 6-9 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.2 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Safety Valve 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
Thursday, Nov 12 · 2 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 3 kt NNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
33Water temp: 82°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
59Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable 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 · 12 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Safety Valve
- Depth
- 6-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Outer · ExposedChannel · flat bottom
- 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 Safety Valve
Safety Valve is a gut in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 6-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, crevalle jack and king mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, Florida pompano and gray snapper. Red drum peak from October through February. Common snook 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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- 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
- Biscayne Flats62
Bar · 3.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 62
- Common snook 56
- Florida pompano 56
8 kt EL 8:47 AM · 0.5 ftH 3:01 PM · 2.5 ft
- Biscayne Channel61
Channel · 4.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 61
- Red drum 59
- Crevalle jack 53
8 kt EL 8:47 AM · 0.5 ftH 3:01 PM · 2.5 ft
- Biscayne Bay57
Bay · 4.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 57
- Red drum 57
- Florida pompano 54
7 kt EL 9:26 AM · 0.4 ftH 3:20 PM · 2.3 ft
- Lewis Cut55
Bay · 4.5 mi
Top: Florida pompanoShoulder season- Florida pompano 55
- Common snook 54
- Red drum 54
7 kt EL 9:43 AM · 0.5 ftH 3:47 PM · 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.