UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook65
- Red drum58
- Atlantic croaker55
- Gray snapper55
- Atlantic tarpon54
- Spanish mackerel53
- Permit51
- Southern flounder49
- Black drum48
- Crevalle jack47
- Gag grouper47
- Florida pompano44
- Gray triggerfish44
- Red grouper44
- Red snapper44
- King mackerel43
- Spotted seatrout42
- Greater amberjack39
- Cobia37
- Sheepshead33
Best score today · 10 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 337 PM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Sword Point 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
36Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
93Wind: 2 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
58Water temp: 85°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.9 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
26Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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)
Source: FWC · synced today
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
Spot profile
Sword Point
- Depth
- 4-6 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Sword Point
Sword Point is a cape in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 4-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, red drum and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, permit and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.
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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Punta Blanca Creek72
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Red drum 72
- Atlantic croaker 71
2 kt EH 11:58 PM · 2.4 ftL 5:23 AM · 1.4 ft
- Jewfish Creek72
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Red drum 72
- Atlantic croaker 71
2 kt EH 11:58 PM · 2.4 ftL 5:23 AM · 1.4 ft
- Punta Blanca Bay66
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 66
- Common snook 65
- Atlantic croaker 61
2 kt EL 7:26 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:44 AM · 1.7 ft
- Oyster Creek65
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 65
- Red drum 65
- Atlantic croaker 61
2 kt EL 7:26 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:44 AM · 1.7 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.