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Florida pompanoRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 5710 AM CST
- Best window
- 5 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.1 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Lands End 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
Saturday, Nov 7 · 3 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
75Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt SWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
89Water temp: 76°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
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
Lands End
- Depth
- 1-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Lands End
Lands End is a cape in St. Andrews Bay Waterways, Florida. Depth is 1-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, Spanish mackerel and king mackerel. It is peak season now for red drum, Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for king mackerel, gray triggerfish, red grouper and sheepshead. Red drum peak from September 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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Smack Bayou73
Bay · 3.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Spanish mackerel 67
- Spotted seatrout 67
8 kt ENEL 1:46 PM · 0.2 ftH 3:59 AM · 1.4 ft
- Fred Bayou72
Bay · 3.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 72
- Spotted seatrout 66
- Spanish mackerel 65
10 kt ENEL 3:50 PM · 0.3 ftH 5:20 AM · 1.6 ft
- Military Point67
Cape · 3.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 67
- Spanish mackerel 67
- King mackerel 64
8 kt ENEL 3:50 PM · 0.3 ftH 5:20 AM · 1.6 ft
- Palmetto Point65
Cape · 3.0 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 65
- Red drum 64
- King mackerel 62
10 kt ENEL 1:46 PM · 0.2 ftH 3:59 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.