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Florida pompanoRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 6010 PM CST
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Jolly 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
Sunday, Nov 15 · 12 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: FloodingWind & pressure
ECMWF
87Wind: 7 kt SEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
79Water temp: 74°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Spotted seatrout
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In range
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 Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- 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 Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Florida pompano is best here
Peak season for Florida pompano · 3 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Jolly Bay
- Depth
- 3-5 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak 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 Jolly Bay
Jolly Bay is a bay in Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 3-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, red drum and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, red drum, Spanish mackerel and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for black drum, gray snapper, king mackerel and sheepshead. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October 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.
- 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.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Mallet Bayou69
Bay · 2.0 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 69
- Spotted seatrout 66
- Florida pompano 59
10 kt ESEH 8:58 AM · 0.7 ftL 6:43 PM · 0.5 ft
- LaGrange Bayou67
Bay · 2.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 67
- Spotted seatrout 63
- Florida pompano 59
10 kt ESEH 8:58 AM · 0.7 ftL 6:43 PM · 0.5 ft
- Duck Lake62
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 62
- Florida pompano 61
- Spanish mackerel 58
7 kt ESEH 8:58 AM · 0.7 ftL 6:43 PM · 0.5 ft
- Wheeler Point56
Cape · 1.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 56
- Florida pompano 55
- Spanish mackerel 51
10 kt ESEH 8:58 AM · 0.7 ftL 6:43 PM · 0.5 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.