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Best score today · 11 PM · Sheepshead

82/100Great

Now: 323 AM EDT
Best window: 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now: Low1.2 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: today · 82

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time3ANOW

Score32Fair

Tide1.2 ftLow

CurrentSlack0.0 kn

Wind3 kn ESEgusts 6 · steady

Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 4 s

Air temp73°Warm

WeatherMostly cloudy82% cloud

Water85°FObserved

TUE · SEP 22

12A

1A

2A

NOW

4A

5A

6A

7A

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

35

31

32

35

0.4

○0.2

○0.0

○0.1

○0.2

0.3

○0.1

○0.0

○0.1

0.2

0.4

0.5

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0.5

0.2

○0.0

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0.3

0.5

63

74

84

94

93

103

102

112

122

121

123

113

104

94

84

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.5

38%

49%

63%

80%

92%

98%

100%

96%

88%

76%

55%

30%

85°

86°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Sheepshead

Retention open

Daily limit: 8 per day
Possession: Not published
Size: Minimum 12 in, total length
Season: No closed season on file
Annual quota: Not published
Other: State rules extend into federal waters. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, seine, spear or gig. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round. A 50-fish vessel limit applies in March and April.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Sheepshead, 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))
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)

Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Sheepshead is best here

Out of season for Sheepshead · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks

Peak
Shoulder
Off
This week

Sheepshead in Florida →

Spot profile

Shell Pass

Depth: 4-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure: Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · flat bottom
Season: Off seasonSheepshead

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 Shell Pass

Shell Pass is a channel in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 4-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, Spanish mackerel and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.

Tackle & technique

Sheepshead: Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
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

View all on map →

Big Jim Creek
Bay · 1.9 mi
65
Top: Red drumPeak season
- Red drum 65
- Atlantic croaker 64
- Common snook 64
3 kt ESEL 6:01 AM · 1.3 ftH 11:14 AM · 2.0 ft
Back Bay
Bay · 1.0 mi
63
Top: Common snookPeak season
- Common snook 63
- Atlantic croaker 56
- Gray snapper 56
3 kt ESEL 4:01 AM · 1.2 ftH 10:48 AM · 1.9 ft
Jug Creek
Bay · 0.2 mi
59
Top: Common snookPeak season
- Common snook 59
- Red drum 58
- Atlantic croaker 56
3 kt ESEL 4:01 AM · 1.2 ftH 10:48 AM · 1.9 ft
Jug Creek Point Shoal
Bar · 1.3 mi
59
Top: Common snookPeak season
- Common snook 59
- Atlantic croaker 51
- Gray snapper 51
3 kt ESEL 4:01 AM · 1.2 ftH 10:48 AM · 1.9 ft