UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Florida pompano58
- Red drum57
- Spanish mackerel57
- Spotted seatrout55
- Common snook52
- Black drum48
- King mackerel48
- Gray snapper46
- Sheepshead46
- Gray triggerfish44
- Red grouper44
- Atlantic croaker35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Atlantic tarpon33
- Permit27
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · Permit
- Now
- 272 PM EST
- Best window
- 4-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.3 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Boca Ciega Bay 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 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
70Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
35Gusts over the limit · capped at 35Wind: 6 kt EPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
84Water temp: 74°F, coolLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
32Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: 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 yesterday
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
Boca Ciega Bay
- Depth
- 3-15 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
- 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 Boca Ciega Bay
Boca Ciega Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, red drum and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, red drum, Spanish mackerel and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, king mackerel and gray snapper. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Long Bayou72
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 72
- Spotted seatrout 68
- Florida pompano 66
9 kt EH 8:30 PM · 1.7 ftL 12:54 AM · 1.4 ft
- Turtlecrawl Point66
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 66
- Red drum 65
- Spanish mackerel 65
9 kt EH 8:30 PM · 1.7 ftL 12:54 AM · 1.4 ft
- Blind Pass61
Channel · 1.4 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 61
- Florida pompano 60
- Red drum 58
9 kt EH 9:26 PM · 1.6 ftL 2:14 AM · 1.4 ft
- Devils Elbow58
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 58
- Spotted seatrout 58
- Florida pompano 54
9 kt EH 9:26 PM · 1.6 ftL 2:14 AM · 1.4 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.