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Atlantic tarponCatch & releaseSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Atlantic tarpon
- Now
- 5010 AM CDT
- Best window
- 4-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High0.9 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Duck Lake 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
20Tide: High slackCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 4 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
70Water temp: 86°F, primeLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Atlantic tarpon
Species seasonality
55Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: Catch & release
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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 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)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
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
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Duck Lake
- Depth
- 2-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Duck Lake
Duck Lake is a bay in Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 2-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
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 crevalle jack. 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
- 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.
- 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
- Jolly Bay71
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 71
- Florida pompano 58
- Gray snapper 56
4 kt EL 11:17 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:25 AM · 0.9 ft
- Mallet Bayou71
Bay · 3.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 71
- Red drum 59
- Florida pompano 54
4 kt EL 11:17 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:25 AM · 0.9 ft
- Bunker Cove70
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 58
- Permit 54
4 kt EL 11:17 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:25 AM · 0.9 ft
- Wheeler Point66
Cape · 2.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Florida pompano 54
- Gray snapper 52
4 kt EL 11:17 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:25 AM · 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.