Waterlands

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SheepsheadRetention open

Bay · Florida

Gordon Pass

26.10°N · 81.79°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM

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Best score today · 7 AM · Sheepshead

77/100Great
Now
354 AM EDT
Best window
11 AM-5 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.7 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Thu · 83

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

Time4ANOW
Score35Fair
Tide1.7 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward NNW
Wind5 kn ESEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 3 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy71% cloud
Water87°FModel

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

Sheepshead season by week of the year. Out of season for Sheepshead · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Sheepshead in Florida →

Spot profile

Gordon Pass

Depth
2-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Pass · Inner · ProtectedPass · 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 Gordon Pass

Gordon Pass is a bay in Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 2-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 24 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, black drum and Spanish mackerel. 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 →
  • Naples Bay

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    71
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 71
    • Atlantic croaker 66
    • Red drum 65

    5 kt ESEL 5:26 AM · 1.4 ftH 11:30 AM · 3.1 ft

  • The First National

    Bay · 4.0 mi

    70
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 70
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Red drum 64

    5 kt ESEL 5:23 AM · 1.3 ftH 11:33 AM · 2.8 ft

  • Rookery Channel

    Bay · 4.1 mi

    70
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 70
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Gray snapper 65

    5 kt ESEL 5:23 AM · 1.3 ftH 11:33 AM · 2.8 ft

  • Rookery Bay

    Bay · 5.3 mi

    70
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 70
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Red drum 64

    5 kt ESEL 5:23 AM · 1.3 ftH 11:33 AM · 2.8 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.