Waterlands

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SheepsheadRetention open

Cape · Florida

West Point

25.71°N · 80.18°W · Cape · Biscayne Bay

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Best score today · 7 AM · Sheepshead

74/100Great
Now
324 AM EST
Best window
6-9 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High2.4 ft

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 14 · 4 PM

Time4P
Score58Good
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward E
Wind5 kn Sgusts 19 · steady
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy55% cloud
Water80°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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

Sheepshead season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Sheepshead · 12 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Sheepshead in Florida →

Spot profile

West Point

Depth
1-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 West Point

West Point is a cape in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 1-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, 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, gray snapper 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

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.
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

  • Bear Cut

    Channel · 1.9 mi

    64
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 64
    • Atlantic tarpon 57
    • Red drum 56

    5 kt EL 9:52 AM · 0.6 ftH 4:05 PM · 2.6 ft

  • Cape Florida Channel

    Channel · 2.5 mi

    64
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 64
    • Atlantic tarpon 57
    • Red drum 56

    5 kt EL 9:54 AM · 0.5 ftH 4:02 PM · 2.5 ft

  • South Basin

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    59
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 59
    • Florida pompano 56
    • Crevalle jack 51

    5 kt EL 10:48 AM · 0.5 ftH 4:35 PM · 2.4 ft

  • Harbor Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    54
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 54
    • Florida pompano 51
    • Crevalle jack 46

    5 kt EL 10:48 AM · 0.5 ftH 4:35 PM · 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.