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SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook71
- Spanish mackerel69
- Florida pompano66
- Red drum66
- Spotted seatrout66
- Black drum65
- Gray snapper59
- King mackerel59
- Sheepshead58
- Gray triggerfish51
- Red grouper51
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 584 AM EST
- Best window
- 5-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Blind 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 4 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
75Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.2 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 9 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
65Water temp: 76°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.6 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
62Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
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 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))
- 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Sheepshead is best here
Shoulder season for Sheepshead · 12 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Blind Pass
- Depth
- 8-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · ProtectedPass · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder 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 Blind Pass
Blind Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 8-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Spanish mackerel and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, gray snapper and king mackerel. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November.
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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Long Bayou73
Bay · 3.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Spotted seatrout 70
- Common snook 66
9 kt EH 6:29 AM · 2.0 ftL 1:52 PM · 0.5 ft
- McPherson Bayou70
Bay · 3.0 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 70
- Spotted seatrout 67
- Common snook 64
9 kt EH 7:05 AM · 2.0 ftL 2:10 PM · 0.5 ft
- Devils Elbow68
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 68
- Red drum 66
- Spotted seatrout 66
9 kt EH 7:25 AM · 1.9 ftL 3:12 PM · 0.4 ft
- Boca Ciega Bay67
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 67
- Florida pompano 65
- Red drum 65
9 kt EH 7:25 AM · 1.9 ftL 3:12 PM · 0.4 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.