UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Florida pompanoRetention openBay · Florida
Rice Creek Bay
28.51°N · 82.67°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook73
- Atlantic croaker71
- Red drum71
- Atlantic tarpon65
- Florida pompano64
- Permit64
- Gray snapper63
- Southern flounder63
- Spanish mackerel61
- Crevalle jack60
- Black drum58
- Gag grouper55
- King mackerel55
- Spotted seatrout53
- Gray triggerfish52
- Red grouper52
- Red snapper52
- Cobia51
- Yellowfin tuna50
- Greater amberjack47
- Sailfish45
- Wahoo44
- Mahi-mahi43
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 6411 AM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding3.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Rice Creek Bay 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 · 11 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
70Tide: FloodingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 3 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
72Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
78Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: Out of 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 (5 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
Rice Creek Bay
- Depth
- Up to 1 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Rice Creek Bay
Rice Creek Bay is a bay in Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is up to 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano, permit and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Red drum peak from September through November.
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.
- 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
- Coon Key Point73
Cape · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 73
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Red drum 71
3 kt NEH 11:48 AM · 3.2 ftL 8:02 PM · 0.7 ft
- Centipede Bay72
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 69
3 kt NEH 12:22 PM · 2.8 ftL 7:37 PM · 0.9 ft
- Cedar Point72
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 70
3 kt NEH 12:22 PM · 2.8 ftL 7:37 PM · 0.9 ft
- Fiddlers Point72
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 70
3 kt NEH 12:22 PM · 2.8 ftL 7:37 PM · 0.9 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.