UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Spanish mackerel75
- Common snook73
- Florida pompano71
- Red drum69
- Spotted seatrout69
- Black drum66
- King mackerel65
- Gray snapper60
- Sheepshead59
- Gray triggerfish54
- Red grouper54
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · Permit
- Now
- 354 PM EST
- Best window
- 5-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.5 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
Sunday, Nov 15 · 7 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
87Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
85Wind: 7 kt NNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
80Water temp: 75°F, coolLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
37Off 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)
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
Blind Pass
- Depth
- 8-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · ProtectedPass · 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 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 Spanish mackerel, common snook 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, king mackerel and gray snapper. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Long Bayou80
Bay · 3.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 80
- Spotted seatrout 77
- Spanish mackerel 76
7 kt ESEH 8:41 PM · 1.8 ftL 2:16 AM · 1.1 ft
- McPherson Bayou76
Bay · 3.0 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 76
- Spotted seatrout 73
- Spanish mackerel 72
7 kt ESEH 9:03 PM · 1.8 ftL 2:28 AM · 1.1 ft
- Boca Ciega Bay71
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 71
- Florida pompano 70
- Common snook 69
7 kt ESEH 9:37 PM · 1.7 ftL 3:36 AM · 1.0 ft
- Devils Elbow70
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 70
- Red drum 69
- Spotted seatrout 69
7 kt ESEH 9:37 PM · 1.7 ftL 3:36 AM · 1.0 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.