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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 all
- Gray snapper72
- Common snook71
- Gag grouper66
- Atlantic croaker65
- Permit65
- Spanish mackerel65
- Gray triggerfish64
- Red drum64
- Red grouper63
- Red snapper63
- Florida pompano62
- King mackerel62
- Atlantic tarpon61
- Black drum60
- Crevalle jack57
- Greater amberjack57
- Southern flounder56
- Cobia52
- Spotted seatrout48
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 10 PM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 627 PM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.5 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 7 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
66Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
91Wind: 2 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
75Water temp: 85°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
73Season: 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 today
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
Quarantine Rocks
- Depth
- 6-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · slope
- 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 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 gray snapper, common snook and gag grouper. It is peak season now for gray snapper, common snook, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for gag grouper, permit, Spanish mackerel and gray triggerfish. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gag grouper peak from October through December.
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.
- Gray snapper
- Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Pelican Pass79
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 79
- Atlantic croaker 74
- Gray snapper 70
2 kt EH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft
- Pelican Bay76
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Gray snapper 69
2 kt EH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft
- Boca Grande75
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 75
- Atlantic croaker 74
- Gray snapper 70
2 kt EH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft
- Primo Point71
Cape · 2.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 71
- Atlantic croaker 65
- Gray snapper 65
2 kt EH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 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.
