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SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook72
- Atlantic croaker70
- Gray snapper68
- Atlantic tarpon66
- Red drum66
- Black drum60
- Permit60
- Southern flounder58
- Crevalle jack57
- Gag grouper54
- Red snapper53
- Spanish mackerel53
- Gray triggerfish52
- Red grouper52
- Spotted seatrout51
- Florida pompano50
- Greater amberjack47
- King mackerel47
- Cobia42
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 11 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 359 PM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big Bend Channel 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
Sunday, Sep 27 · 2 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
95Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
49Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
45Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Sheepshead
Retention open- Daily limit
- 8 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 12 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- State rules extend into federal waters. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, seine, spear or gig. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round. A 50-fish vessel limit applies in March and April.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Sheepshead, 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)
- 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 Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- 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 Sheepshead is best here
Out of season for Sheepshead · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Big Bend Channel
- Depth
- 10-40 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
- Season
- Off seasonSheepshead
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 Channel
Big Bend Channel is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 10-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, permit and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September.
Tackle & technique
- Sheepshead
- Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
- Common snook
- Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
- 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
- Hillsborough Channel74
Channel · 3.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 74
- Atlantic croaker 73
- Gray snapper 70
4 kt EH 1:18 AM · 2.4 ftL 6:55 AM · 1.1 ft
- Alafia River Channel73
Channel · 1.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 73
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Gray snapper 68
4 kt EH 1:50 AM · 2.1 ftL 7:18 AM · 1.2 ft
- Big Bend73
Bay · 2.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 73
- Atlantic croaker 69
- Gray snapper 68
4 kt EH 1:50 AM · 2.0 ftL 6:31 AM · 1.5 ft
- The Kitchen70
Bay · 2.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 70
- Common snook 68
- Atlantic croaker 67
4 kt EH 1:50 AM · 2.1 ftL 7:18 AM · 1.2 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.