UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Florida pompanoRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook72
- Atlantic croaker66
- Red drum65
- Gray snapper64
- Atlantic tarpon57
- Spanish mackerel57
- Black drum55
- Crevalle jack54
- Florida pompano54
- Southern flounder53
- Permit50
- Red snapper50
- Gag grouper49
- Gray triggerfish48
- Spotted seatrout48
- Cobia47
- King mackerel47
- Red grouper47
- Greater amberjack42
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 AM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 546 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7-10 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Pejuan Cove 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 · 6 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
55Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 9 kt SEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
58Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.2 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
67Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: 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
Pejuan Cove
- Depth
- 1-6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Pejuan Cove
Pejuan Cove is a bay in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 1-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, black drum and crevalle jack. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Red drum peak from September through November.
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
- The Narrows74
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 74
- Atlantic croaker 69
- Red drum 66
3 kt ESEH 10:51 AM · 2.2 ftL 6:06 PM · 0.5 ft
- Safety Harbor72
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 67
- Gray snapper 66
9 kt SEH 10:51 AM · 2.2 ftL 6:06 PM · 0.5 ft
- Pejuan Point67
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 67
- Atlantic croaker 60
- Gray snapper 60
9 kt SEH 10:51 AM · 2.2 ftL 6:06 PM · 0.5 ft
- Useppa Oyster Bar66
Bar · 2.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 66
- Atlantic croaker 60
- Gray snapper 60
3 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.