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PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Florida pompano66
- Spotted seatrout63
- Red drum61
- Common snook57
- Spanish mackerel54
- Black drum51
- Gray snapper48
- Sheepshead46
- King mackerel44
- Gray triggerfish40
- Red grouper40
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit34
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 7 PM · Permit
- Now
- 3411 PM EST
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMHigh slack
- Tide now
- High1.9 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big 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
Wednesday, Nov 4 · 8 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
76Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 7 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
99Water temp: 76°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
32Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: 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
Big Bend
- Depth
- 1-4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- 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 Big Bend
Big Bend is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, spotted seatrout and red drum. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, spotted seatrout, red drum and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, gray snapper and sheepshead. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November. 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Big Bend Channel70
Channel · 2.2 mi
Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season- Spotted seatrout 70
- Red drum 66
- Common snook 62
9 kt EL 3:30 AM · 1.7 ftH 9:36 AM · 2.3 ft
- The Kitchen66
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season- Spotted seatrout 66
- Red drum 65
- Florida pompano 62
9 kt EL 3:51 AM · 1.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 2.2 ft
- Alafia River Channel66
Channel · 3.0 mi
Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season- Spotted seatrout 66
- Florida pompano 62
- Red drum 62
9 kt EL 3:51 AM · 1.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 2.2 ft
- South Channel66
Bay · 3.9 mi
Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season- Spotted seatrout 66
- Florida pompano 62
- Red drum 62
9 kt EL 3:51 AM · 1.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 2.2 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.