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Florida pompanoRetention openChannel · Florida
West Channel
30.39°N · 87.21°W · Channel · Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 4811 AM CDT
- Best window
- 11 AM-7 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when West Channel 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 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
77Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 5 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
57Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: Bright sunSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
40Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of 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 Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- 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 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 Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- 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 Florida pompano is best here
Shoulder season for Florida pompano · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
West Channel
- Depth
- 25-30 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder 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 West Channel
West Channel is a channel in Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound, Florida. Depth is 25-30 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for black drum, Atlantic tarpon, permit and crevalle jack. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Red drum peak from September 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.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
- Gray snapper
- Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- East Channel73
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 73
- Gray snapper 65
- Red drum 64
5 kt NEL 7:18 PM · 0.6 ftH 10:20 AM · 1.4 ft
- Inner Harbor Channel73
Channel · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 73
- Gray snapper 65
- Red drum 64
5 kt NEL 7:18 PM · 0.6 ftH 10:20 AM · 1.4 ft
- Bay Channel73
Channel · 1.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 73
- Gray snapper 65
- Red drum 64
5 kt NEL 7:18 PM · 0.6 ftH 10:20 AM · 1.4 ft
- Fair Point65
Cape · 2.0 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 65
- Gray snapper 60
- Red drum 58
5 kt NEL 7:18 PM · 0.6 ftH 10:20 AM · 1.4 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.