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PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Permit
- Now
- 263 PM CST
- Best window
- 5-10 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.2 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Smack Bayou 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
Friday, Nov 6 · 10 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
87Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 3 kt WNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
77Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
20Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
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 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)
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Permit is best here
Out of season for Permit · shoulder season starts in 17 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Smack Bayou
- Depth
- 1-9 ftSlope
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · slope
- Season
- Off 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 Smack Bayou
Smack Bayou is a bay in St. Andrews Bay Waterways, Florida. Depth is 1-9 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, spotted seatrout and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for red drum, spotted seatrout, Florida pompano and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for king mackerel, black drum, sheepshead and gray triggerfish. Red drum peak from September through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October 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.
- 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.
- Spotted seatrout
- Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Bunkers Cove67
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 67
- Florida pompano 65
- Spanish mackerel 65
6 kt ENEH 3:59 AM · 1.4 ftL 1:51 PM · 0.5 ft
- Redfish Point62
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 62
- Florida pompano 61
- Spanish mackerel 61
6 kt ENEH 3:59 AM · 1.4 ftL 1:51 PM · 0.5 ft
- Palmetto Point62
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 62
- Red drum 62
- Spanish mackerel 60
10 kt EH 3:59 AM · 1.4 ftL 1:51 PM · 0.5 ft
- Bunkers Point62
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 62
- Florida pompano 61
- Spanish mackerel 61
6 kt ENEH 3:59 AM · 1.4 ftL 1:51 PM · 0.5 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.