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PermitRetention openBay · Florida
Snake Bight
25.17°N · 80.85°W · Bay · Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 10 AM · Permit
- Now
- 6711 PM EDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Snake Bight 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 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
84Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.4 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt SEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
64Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeas: 1.1 ftSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
72Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)
Permit
Retention open- Daily limit
- 1 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 22 in, fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Apr 1
- Other
- Hook and line only in state waters. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Closed April 1 through July 31 each year inside the Special Permit Zone.
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
- 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
- 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))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Permit is best here
Shoulder season for Permit · 22 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Snake Bight
- Depth
- 1-2 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonPermit
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 Snake Bight
Snake Bight is a bay in Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are Atlantic tarpon, common snook and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, red drum and gray snapper. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Snake Bight Channel77
Channel · 2.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 77
- Atlantic tarpon 75
- Crevalle jack 70
3 kt EH 2:14 AM · 2.3 ftL 8:57 AM · 1.1 ft
- Porpoise Point72
Cape · 1.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic tarpon 72
- Permit 68
5 kt SEH 2:14 AM · 2.3 ftL 8:57 AM · 1.1 ft
- Gibby Point72
Cape · 1.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic tarpon 72
- Permit 67
3 kt EH 2:14 AM · 2.3 ftL 8:57 AM · 1.1 ft
- Garfield Bight72
Bay · 3.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic tarpon 72
- Crevalle jack 70
5 kt SEH 2:14 AM · 2.3 ftL 8:57 AM · 1.1 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.