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Florida pompanoRetention openBay · Florida
Fishing Bend
30.34°N · 87.14°W · Bay · Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 756 AM CST
- Best window
- 6-9 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Fishing Bend 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 · 6 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
92Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.6 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 9 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
80Water temp: 74°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Major periodSeas: 4.2 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Florida pompano is best here
Peak season for Florida pompano · 4 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Fishing Bend
- Depth
- 5-15 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
- 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 Fishing Bend
Fishing Bend is a bay in Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound, Florida. Depth is 5-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and king mackerel. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for king mackerel, gray snapper, sheepshead and gray triggerfish. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. King mackerel peak in May and in October.
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.
- 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.
- King mackerel
- Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Butcherpen Cove79
Bay · 2.8 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 79
- Spanish mackerel 72
- Red drum 67
9 kt ENEL 3:30 PM · 0.3 ftH 6:21 AM · 1.3 ft
- English Navy Cove77
Bay · 2.4 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 77
- Spanish mackerel 70
- King mackerel 60
9 kt ENEL 3:30 PM · 0.3 ftH 6:21 AM · 1.3 ft
- Grassy Point75
Cape · 1.9 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 75
- Spanish mackerel 68
- King mackerel 62
9 kt ENEL 3:30 PM · 0.3 ftH 6:21 AM · 1.3 ft
- Sabine Point73
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 73
- Spanish mackerel 65
- King mackerel 59
9 kt ENEL 3:30 PM · 0.3 ftH 6:21 AM · 1.3 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.