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Florida pompanoRetention openBar · Florida
Cape Saint George Shoal
29.55°N · 85.06°W · Bar · Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker64
- Red drum64
- Atlantic tarpon60
- Spanish mackerel59
- Gray snapper58
- Black drum56
- Crevalle jack55
- Gag grouper54
- Florida pompano52
- King mackerel52
- Southern flounder51
- Gray triggerfish50
- Red grouper50
- Red snapper50
- Permit48
- Yellowfin tuna47
- Cobia46
- Sailfish45
- Greater amberjack44
- Spotted seatrout44
- Wahoo43
- Mahi-mahi42
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 6 PM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 527 AM EDT
- Best window
- 1-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cape Saint George Shoal 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 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
22Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 6 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
61Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
79Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Florida pompano
Retention open- Daily limit
- 6 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 11 in, fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, and beach or haul seine only. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round in state and federal waters.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Permit, Florida pompano and African pompano, 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
- 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 Retention open (1 per day)
- 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Florida pompano is best here
Shoulder season for Florida pompano · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cape Saint George Shoal
- Depth
- About 15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonFlorida pompano
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 Cape Saint George Shoal
Cape Saint George Shoal is a bar in Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is about 15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, red drum and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, black drum and crevalle jack. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
Tackle & technique
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
- 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.
- 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
- Pilot Cove68
Bay · 3.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Atlantic croaker 64
- Southern flounder 60
6 kt NEL 8:36 AM · 1.4 ftH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ft
- Cape Saint George64
Cape · 2.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 64
- Red drum 64
- Spanish mackerel 61
6 kt NEL 8:36 AM · 1.4 ftH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ft
- Horseshoe Cove64
Bay · 3.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 64
- Red drum 64
- Atlantic tarpon 60
6 kt NEL 8:36 AM · 1.4 ftH 1:37 PM · 1.8 ft
- Higgins Shoal64
Bar · 5.0 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 64
- Red drum 64
- Atlantic tarpon 60
6 kt NEL 8:36 AM · 1.4 ftH 1:37 PM · 1.8 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.