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PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Permit
- Now
- 485 PM CDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.6 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bell Shoal 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
30Tide: Low slackCurrent: 0.4 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 3 kt SSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
78Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
41Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Permit
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Slot 11 to 22 in, fork length. One fish over 22 inches allowed per person, counted in the bag limit.
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- No more than 2 permit over 22 inches per vessel. Hook and line only in state waters. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Outside the Special Permit Zone. Open year-round.
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 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)
- 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 Permit is best here
Shoulder season for Permit · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Bell Shoal
- Depth
- About 20 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · 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 Bell Shoal
Bell Shoal is a bar in St. Andrews Bay Waterways, Florida. Depth is about 20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are gray snapper, Atlantic tarpon and red drum. It is peak season now for gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and black drum. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July. Red drum peak 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Wild Goose Lagoon74
Bay · 5.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 74
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Atlantic tarpon 70
3 kt SSWL 7:58 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:33 AM · 1.8 ft
- Saint Andrew Point68
Cape · 3.7 mi
Top: Gray snapperPeak season- Gray snapper 68
- Atlantic croaker 67
- Red drum 65
3 kt SSWL 7:58 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:33 AM · 1.8 ft
- Nesser Flat66
Bay · 7.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Gray snapper 66
- Red drum 66
3 kt SSWL 5:58 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:33 AM · 1.8 ft
- Saint Joseph Point59
Cape · 4.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 59
- Red drum 58
- Atlantic tarpon 58
3 kt SSWH 7:50 AM · 1.8 ftL 5:42 PM · 0.7 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.