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PermitRetention 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 snook76
- Atlantic tarpon68
- Red drum67
- Spanish mackerel67
- Atlantic croaker66
- Gray snapper66
- Permit63
- Crevalle jack62
- Southern flounder62
- Black drum57
- Florida pompano55
- King mackerel54
- Spotted seatrout53
- Cobia52
- Gag grouper50
- Gray triggerfish47
- Red grouper47
- Red snapper47
- Greater amberjack46
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 10 PM · Permit
- Now
- 635 PM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.7 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
67Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.0 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 2 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
84Water temp: 85°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
59Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier 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
- 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
- Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
- 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)
- 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 Permit is best here
Shoulder season for Permit · 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 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 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 tarpon and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, permit and crevalle jack. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July. Red drum peak 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
- Starvation Flats78
Flat · 1.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 78
- Common snook 75
- Permit 73
2 kt EL 6:54 PM · 0.5 ftH 1:07 AM · 2.1 ft
- Ostego Bay73
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 73
- Gray snapper 66
- Red drum 66
2 kt EL 5:33 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:59 PM · 2.4 ft
- New Pass72
Channel · 2.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 66
- Atlantic tarpon 63
2 kt SSEL 5:40 PM · 0.6 ftH 12:12 AM · 2.1 ft
- Estero Bay68
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 68
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Gray snapper 60
2 kt SSEL 5:33 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:59 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.