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Florida pompanoRetention openChannel · Florida
Big Carlos Pass
26.40°N · 81.88°W · Channel · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook83
- Atlantic croaker79
- Atlantic tarpon74
- Gray snapper74
- Red drum74
- Spanish mackerel68
- Southern flounder67
- Florida pompano66
- Crevalle jack65
- Permit65
- Black drum64
- Spotted seatrout60
- King mackerel59
- Cobia58
- Red snapper55
- Gag grouper53
- Gray triggerfish52
- Red grouper51
- Greater amberjack50
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 10 PM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 6611 PM EDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big Carlos 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 11 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.0 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt SEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
62Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
71Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Florida pompano
Retention open- Daily limit
- 6 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 11 in, fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, and beach or haul seine only. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round in state and federal waters.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Permit, Florida pompano and African pompano, read Sep 13
Other species here
- Atlantic croaker Retention open
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (10 per day)
- Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
- Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
- Crevalle jack Retention open
- Gag grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Catch & release (No retention)
- Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- 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 Florida pompano is best here
Shoulder season for Florida pompano · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Big Carlos Pass
- Depth
- 5-15 ftSlope
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonFlorida pompano
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 Big Carlos Pass
Big Carlos Pass is a channel in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 5-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, southern flounder and Florida pompano. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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 croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Starvation Flats81
Flat · 1.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 81
- Common snook 79
- Atlantic tarpon 74
4 kt SEH 1:07 AM · 2.1 ftL 6:15 AM · 1.6 ft
- Ostego Bay80
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 80
- Atlantic croaker 76
- Gray snapper 73
4 kt SEL 5:27 AM · 1.3 ftH 11:30 AM · 2.7 ft
- New Pass80
Channel · 2.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 80
- Atlantic croaker 78
- Gray snapper 69
3 kt ESEH 12:12 AM · 2.1 ftL 5:31 AM · 1.4 ft
- Estero Bay76
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Atlantic croaker 75
- Red drum 68
3 kt ESEL 5:27 AM · 1.3 ftH 11:30 AM · 2.7 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.