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PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Permit
- Now
- 642 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6-9 PMDusk
- Tide now
- Flooding2.1 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Surprise Waterway 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, Oct 1 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.8 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
85Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
65Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
Permit
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Slot 11 to 22 in, fork length. One fish over 22 inches allowed per person, counted in the bag limit.
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- No more than 2 permit over 22 inches per vessel. Hook and line only in state waters. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Outside the Special Permit Zone. Open year-round.
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
- 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)
- 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 Permit is best here
Shoulder season for Permit · 23 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Surprise Waterway
- Depth
- 9-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonPermit
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 Surprise Waterway
Surprise Waterway is a gut in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 9-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, gray snapper and bonefish. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November.
Tackle & technique
- Permit
- Permit cruise flat edges and channels in 2 to 6 feet of water in the Keys and Biscayne Bay, and school over wrecks and reefs in 30 to 120 feet, especially during the spring spawn. A live or artificial crab is the standard bait, cast ahead of a tailing fish on the flats or dropped to a school on a wreck. They spook easily in shallow water, so good light and a long, quiet cast are needed.
- 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
- Tatum Waterway78
Channel · 2.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 78
- Crevalle jack 74
- Atlantic tarpon 74
2 kt EH 3:52 PM · 2.2 ftL 10:25 PM · 1.1 ft
- Indian Creek75
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 75
- Crevalle jack 75
- Atlantic tarpon 74
2 kt EH 3:52 PM · 2.2 ftL 10:25 PM · 1.1 ft
- Biscayne Point73
Cape · 2.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 73
- Crevalle jack 69
- Atlantic tarpon 66
2 kt EH 3:52 PM · 2.2 ftL 10:25 PM · 1.1 ft
- Biscayne Waterway72
Channel · 0.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic tarpon 71
- Crevalle jack 70
2 kt EH 3:16 PM · 2.2 ftL 9:37 PM · 1.1 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.