UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum73
- Atlantic croaker69
- Common snook68
- Gray snapper68
- Atlantic tarpon62
- Crevalle jack59
- Spanish mackerel59
- Black drum58
- Permit57
- Southern flounder57
- Florida pompano56
- Spotted seatrout55
- Gag grouper54
- Gray triggerfish52
- Red grouper52
- Red snapper52
- Cobia51
- King mackerel49
- Greater amberjack46
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Permit
- Now
- 578 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.1 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 8 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
56Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.2 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
75Wind: 4 kt NEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
87Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.6 ftSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
58Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: 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
Big Bend
- Depth
- 1-4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 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 red drum, Atlantic croaker and common snook. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker, common snook and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack, Spanish mackerel and black drum. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.
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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- The Kitchen78
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 78
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Common snook 64
4 kt NEH 6:58 AM · 2.5 ftL 5:17 PM · 0.4 ft
- Alafia River Channel75
Channel · 3.0 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 75
- Atlantic croaker 73
- Common snook 70
4 kt NEH 6:58 AM · 2.5 ftL 5:17 PM · 0.4 ft
- South Channel75
Bay · 3.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 75
- Atlantic croaker 73
- Common snook 70
4 kt NEH 6:58 AM · 2.5 ftL 5:17 PM · 0.4 ft
- Big Bend Channel74
Channel · 2.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 74
- Atlantic croaker 73
- Gray snapper 70
4 kt NEH 7:53 AM · 2.6 ftL 4:56 PM · 0.6 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.