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Common snookRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Spanish mackerel71
- Florida pompano70
- Spotted seatrout70
- Red drum68
- Common snook67
- Black drum63
- King mackerel63
- Sheepshead57
- Gray snapper56
- Gray triggerfish53
- Red grouper53
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · Common snook
- Now
- 673 PM EST
- Best window
- 4-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big Miguel Pass 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 11 · 4 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
68Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
89Wind: 3 kt NEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
91Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Common snook
Species seasonality
74Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Snook
Retention open- Daily limit
- 1 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Slot 28 to 33 in, total length
- Season
- Sep 1 to Nov 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Catch & release from Dec 1
- Other
- Snook permit and saltwater fishing license required. Must stay whole until landed ashore. For-hire captain and crew may not keep a bag limit. Hook and line only. Closed December 1 through the end of February and May 1 through August 31. Open March 1 through April 30 and September 1 through November 30. Regional rules apply in inland, state and adjacent federal waters.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Snook, 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)
- 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)
- 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 Common snook is best here
Shoulder season for Common snook · 4 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Big Miguel Pass
- Depth
- 2-5 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCommon snook
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 Miguel Pass
Big Miguel Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and spotted seatrout. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, spotted seatrout and red drum, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, king mackerel and sheepshead. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Critical Bayou72
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 72
- Spotted seatrout 71
- Florida pompano 64
9 kt EH 9:17 PM · 1.7 ftL 1:26 AM · 1.3 ft
- Miguel Bay68
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 68
- Red drum 67
- Spanish mackerel 67
9 kt EH 9:17 PM · 1.7 ftL 1:26 AM · 1.3 ft
- Custer Bayou68
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Spotted seatrout 67
- Florida pompano 60
9 kt EH 10:07 PM · 1.7 ftL 1:59 AM · 1.4 ft
- Fletcher Point64
Cape · 0.5 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 64
- Red drum 63
- Spotted seatrout 63
9 kt EH 9:17 PM · 1.7 ftL 1:26 AM · 1.3 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.