Waterlands

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Atlantic tarponCatch & release

Bar · Florida

Useppa Oyster Bar

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

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 10 PM · Atlantic tarpon

80/100Great
Now
597 PM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.6 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 · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score59Good
Tide0.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind2 kn Egusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 4 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherOvercast99% chance of rain
Water85°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Tarpon

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Tarpon over 40 inches must stay in the water. Special gear rules apply year-round in Boca Grande Pass. Hook and line only. No snagging, snatch hooking, spearing, or multiple hooks with natural bait. Applies in state and federal waters of the Gulf and Atlantic.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Tarpon, 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
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Atlantic tarpon is best here

Shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon · 1 more week at shoulder

Atlantic tarpon season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
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Atlantic tarpon in Florida →

Spot profile

Useppa Oyster Bar

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonAtlantic tarpon

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, Spanish mackerel and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Atlantic tarpon
Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
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

View all on map →
  • The Narrows

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    78
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 78
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Red drum 68

    2 kt EH 12:05 AM · 1.5 ftL 4:43 AM · 1.2 ft

  • Platt Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    70
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 70
    • Atlantic croaker 62
    • Gray snapper 62

    2 kt EH 12:05 AM · 1.5 ftL 4:43 AM · 1.2 ft

  • Murdock Bayou

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    70
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 70
    • Red drum 69
    • Atlantic croaker 67

    2 kt EH 12:05 AM · 1.5 ftL 4:43 AM · 1.2 ft

  • Water Turkey Bayou

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    65
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 65
    • Red drum 65
    • Atlantic croaker 60

    2 kt EL 7:30 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:33 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.