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Florida pompanoRetention openBar · Florida
Quarantine Rocks
26.71°N · 82.25°W · Bar · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all64
- Florida pompano64
- Common snook62
- Spanish mackerel62
- Black drum60
- King mackerel60
- Red drum60
- Spotted seatrout60
- Gray snapper57
- Gray triggerfish56
- Red grouper56
- Sheepshead51
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 7 AM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 643 AM EST
- Best window
- 6-9 AMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Flooding1.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Quarantine Rocks 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
Tuesday, Nov 10 · 2 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.7 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
80Water temp: 79°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.9 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
95Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
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 Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- 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 Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- 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
Peak season for Florida pompano · 3 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Quarantine Rocks
- Depth
- 6-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · slope
- Season
- Peak 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 Quarantine Rocks
Quarantine Rocks is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 6-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, common snook and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, king mackerel and gray snapper. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October 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.
- 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
- Pelican Pass69
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 69
- Spotted seatrout 67
- Spanish mackerel 66
8 kt EH 7:20 AM · 1.6 ftL 2:16 PM · 0.5 ft
- Pelican Bay66
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 66
- Red drum 65
- Spotted seatrout 64
8 kt EH 7:20 AM · 1.6 ftL 2:16 PM · 0.5 ft
- Boca Grande64
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 64
- Common snook 63
- Black drum 61
8 kt EH 7:20 AM · 1.6 ftL 2:16 PM · 0.5 ft
- Primo Point62
Cape · 2.3 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 62
- Red drum 60
- Spotted seatrout 60
8 kt EH 7:20 AM · 1.6 ftL 2:16 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.