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Best score today · 7 PM · Sheepshead

69/100Great

Now: 333 PM EDT
Best window: 6-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now: Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Fri · 75

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time3PNOW

Score33Fair

Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing

CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward SSW

Wind5 kn Wgusts 8 · easing

Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 4 s

Air temp79°Warm

WeatherPartly cloudy62% chance of rain

Water88°FModel

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

12P

1P

2P

NOW

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

12A

1A

2A

3A

4A

5A

6A

7A

8A

9A

10A

11A

35

33

30

35

33

27

35

30

28

35

32

35

0.2

0.4

0.5

0.3

○0.0

○0.2

0.3

0.4

0.3

○0.1

○0.0

○0.1

0.3

0.5

0.2

○0.0

○0.1

0.3

0.4

0.3

○0.1

○0.0

73

83

95

85

73

52

63

74

95

106

95

84

62

51

41

42

64

74

85

96

118

0.8

0.7

0.8

0.9

42%

58%

67%

62%

51%

41%

34%

31%

32%

31%

88°

87°

88°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)

Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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 6 weeks

Peak
Shoulder
Off
This week

Sheepshead in Florida →

Spot profile

Tortugas Bank

Depth: 10-30 ft
Structure: Bank · Outer · Exposed
Season: Off seasonSheepshead

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Tortugas Bank

Tortugas Bank is a bar in Gulf of America including Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoal Channel, Florida. Depth is 10-30 ft. Its profile reads bank, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, red grouper and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for red grouper, Atlantic tarpon, permit and red drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Red grouper peak from April through June. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November.

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.
Red grouper: Red grouper live on low limestone ledges and potholed live bottom across the West Florida Shelf, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Drift to find hard bottom, then anchor and fish live pinfish, grunts or squid on the bottom with stout conventional tackle. Reel hard right after the bite, because they dive into holes, and use a descending device on fish released from deep water.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →

Bird Key Harbor
Bay · 3.2 mi
58
Top: Common snookPeak season
- Common snook 58
- Crevalle jack 56
- Atlantic tarpon 49
4 kt WSWH 9:38 PM · 1.6 ftL 2:56 AM · 1.1 ft
Bird Key Bank
Bay · 3.0 mi
57
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
- Crevalle jack 57
- Common snook 54
- Atlantic tarpon 52
4 kt WSWH 9:38 PM · 1.6 ftL 2:56 AM · 1.1 ft
White Shoal
Bar · 1.9 mi
53
Top: Common snookPeak season
- Common snook 53
- Crevalle jack 52
- Atlantic tarpon 51
5 kt WH 9:38 PM · 1.4 ftL 2:34 AM · 0.9 ft
Brilliant Shoal
Bar · 3.4 mi
48
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
- Crevalle jack 48
- Atlantic tarpon 47
- Permit 46
5 kt WH 9:38 PM · 1.6 ftL 2:56 AM · 1.1 ft