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SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 3511 AM CDT
- Best window
- 3-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High0.9 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Choctawhatchee 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
31Tide: High slackCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt NNEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
45Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: OvercastSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
38Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Sheepshead is best here
Out of season for Sheepshead · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Choctawhatchee Bay
- Depth
- About 20 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Choctawhatchee Bay
Choctawhatchee Bay is a bay in Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is about 20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, Florida pompano and gray snapper. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, permit and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Gray snapper peak from June through September.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Jones Bayou70
Bay · 5.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 70
- Atlantic croaker 69
- Permit 65
5 kt NEL 6:25 PM · 0.2 ftH 8:44 AM · 0.8 ft
- Horseshoe Bayou69
Bay · 3.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Red drum 56
- Florida pompano 53
5 kt NNEL 1:07 AM · 0.4 ftH 11:16 AM · 0.8 ft
- Grassy Cove68
Bay · 3.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Florida pompano 56
- Gray snapper 54
5 kt NNEL 1:07 AM · 0.4 ftH 11:16 AM · 0.8 ft
- Stake Point63
Cape · 3.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 63
- Florida pompano 52
- Gray snapper 50
5 kt NEL 12:22 AM · 0.5 ftH 11:41 AM · 0.8 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.