Waterlands

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Atlantic tarponCatch & release

Bar · Florida

Patricio Shoal

26.69°N · 82.21°W · Bar · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Atlantic tarpon

79/100Great
Now
668 AM EDT
Best window
8-11 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.4 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Thu · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score66Great
Tide1.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.1 kn · toward ENE
Wind3 kn ESEgusts 5 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 3 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy62% cloud
Water84°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Tarpon

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Tarpon over 40 inches must stay in the water. Special gear rules apply year-round in Boca Grande Pass. Hook and line only. No snagging, snatch hooking, spearing, or multiple hooks with natural bait. Applies in state and federal waters of the Gulf and Atlantic.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Tarpon, 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)
  • 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)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Atlantic tarpon is best here

Shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon · 1 more week at shoulder

Atlantic tarpon season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic tarpon in Florida →

Spot profile

Patricio Shoal

Depth
2-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonAtlantic tarpon

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 Patricio Shoal

Patricio Shoal is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 2-7 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

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.
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

View all on map →
  • Pelican Bay

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    81
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 81
    • Gray snapper 77
    • Red drum 76

    3 kt ESEH 11:02 AM · 1.9 ftL 5:53 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Old Tom Bayou

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    79
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 79
    • Common snook 77
    • Atlantic croaker 75

    3 kt ESEH 11:42 AM · 1.9 ftL 7:11 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Punta Blanca

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    77
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 77
    • Gray snapper 73
    • Red drum 72

    3 kt ESEH 11:02 AM · 1.9 ftL 5:53 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Jug Creek Shoal

    Bar · 1.7 mi

    72
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 72
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Spanish mackerel 68

    3 kt ESEH 11:42 AM · 1.9 ftL 7:11 PM · 0.5 ft

Open in the tide map

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.