Waterlands

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Spotted seatroutRetention open

Bar · Florida

Useppa Oyster Bar

26.65°N · 82.21°W · Bar · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Spotted seatrout

77/100Great
Now
416 PM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.5 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: Wed · 81

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score41Fair
Tide0.5 ftLow
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward WSW
Wind4 kn ENEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 4 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy98% chance of rain
Water87°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Spotted seatrout

Retention open
Daily limit
3 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Slot 15 to 19 in, total length. One fish over 19 inches per vessel, or per person when fishing from shore, counted in the bag limit.
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Must stay whole until landed ashore. For-hire captain and crew may not keep a bag limit. Hook and line or cast net only. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round. Regional rules apply in inland, state and adjacent federal waters. New regional rules took effect April 1, 2026.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Spotted Seatrout, 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))
  • 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
  • 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 today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Spotted seatrout is best here

Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder

Spotted seatrout season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Spotted seatrout in Florida →

Spot profile

Useppa Oyster Bar

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSpotted seatrout

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 Useppa Oyster Bar

Useppa Oyster Bar is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Water Turkey Bayou

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    75
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 75
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Common snook 72

    4 kt ENEL 8:00 PM · 0.5 ftH 1:41 AM · 1.7 ft

  • The Narrows

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Atlantic croaker 63
    • Atlantic tarpon 63

    4 kt ENEL 6:06 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:08 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Murdock Bayou

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    63
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 63
    • Common snook 60
    • Atlantic croaker 59

    4 kt ENEL 6:06 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:08 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Platt Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    60
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 60
    • Gray snapper 56
    • Red drum 56

    4 kt ENEL 6:06 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:08 AM · 1.6 ft

Open in the tide map

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.