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SheepsheadRetention openCape · Florida
Shark Point
25.14°N · 80.80°W · Cape · Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 AM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 357 AM EDT
- Best window
- 10 AM-2 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Shark Point 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
69Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
58Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.9 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
20Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)
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 Closed (No retention)
- 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 Check regulations
- Permit Retention open (1 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
- Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Snook Catch & release (No retention)
- 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 Sheepshead is best here
Out of season for Sheepshead · shoulder season starts in 6 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Shark Point
- Depth
- 1-2 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Shark Point
Shark Point is a cape in Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound. Depth in the nearest water is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, permit and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for permit, Atlantic tarpon, red drum and bonefish. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Permit peak from March through June. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June.
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.
- 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.
- Permit
- Permit cruise flat edges and channels in 2 to 6 feet of water in the Keys and Biscayne Bay, and school over wrecks and reefs in 30 to 120 feet, especially during the spring spawn. A live or artificial crab is the standard bait, cast ahead of a tailing fish on the flats or dropped to a school on a wreck. They spook easily in shallow water, so good light and a long, quiet cast are needed.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Rankin Bight70
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 70
- Common snook 69
- Permit 66
4 kt EL 8:57 AM · 1.1 ftH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ft
- Mosquito Point70
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 70
- Permit 67
- Atlantic tarpon 66
4 kt EL 8:57 AM · 1.1 ftH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ft
- Garfield Bight70
Bay · 2.2 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 70
- Common snook 69
- Permit 66
4 kt EL 8:57 AM · 1.1 ftH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ft
- Porpoise Point69
Cape · 2.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 69
- Permit 66
- Atlantic tarpon 66
4 kt EL 8:57 AM · 1.1 ftH 1:42 PM · 3.1 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.