UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Florida pompanoRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook79
- Spanish mackerel74
- Gray snapper73
- Florida pompano72
- Red drum72
- Atlantic croaker67
- Atlantic tarpon66
- Crevalle jack66
- King mackerel63
- Southern flounder63
- Black drum61
- Permit61
- Gag grouper59
- Greater amberjack58
- Gray triggerfish57
- Spotted seatrout57
- Cobia56
- Red snapper56
- Red grouper55
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 AM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 728 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8-10 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Captiva Shoal 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 · 8 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.4 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 6 kt ESEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
81Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.1 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
75Season: 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 yesterday
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
Captiva Shoal
- Depth
- 5-7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · flat bottom
- 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 Captiva Shoal
Captiva Shoal is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 5-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Spanish mackerel and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Gray snapper peak from June through September.
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.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Safety Harbor84
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 84
- Gray snapper 79
- Spanish mackerel 75
6 kt ESEH 10:51 AM · 2.2 ftL 6:06 PM · 0.5 ft
- Pine Island Sound83
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 83
- Gray snapper 77
- Red drum 77
6 kt ESEH 11:34 AM · 2.3 ftL 6:20 PM · 0.5 ft
- Rocky Channel82
Channel · 2.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 82
- Gray snapper 75
- Red drum 75
3 kt ESEH 12:10 PM · 2.1 ftL 8:00 PM · 0.5 ft
- Foster Point79
Cape · 1.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 79
- Gray snapper 73
- Red drum 72
6 kt ESEH 10:51 AM · 2.2 ftL 6:06 PM · 0.5 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.