UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook55
- Atlantic croaker51
- Gray snapper51
- Atlantic tarpon50
- Red drum50
- Southern flounder45
- Black drum42
- Permit40
- Crevalle jack39
- Red snapper39
- Spanish mackerel39
- Gag grouper38
- Florida pompano37
- Spotted seatrout36
- Gray triggerfish35
- Red grouper35
- Cobia34
- King mackerel32
- Greater amberjack31
- Sheepshead29
Best score today · 10 PM · Permit
- Now
- 404 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low1.6 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 4 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
14Tide: Low slackCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
91Wind: 2 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
52Water temp: 89°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
54Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
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 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)
- 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))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Permit is best here
Shoulder season for Permit · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Boca Ciega Bay
- Depth
- 3-15 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
- Season
- Shoulder 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 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, southern flounder, black drum and permit. 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
- 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.
- 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
- Blind Pass59
Channel · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 59
- Atlantic croaker 55
- Atlantic tarpon 54
2 kt EL 4:51 AM · 1.6 ftH 10:15 AM · 2.2 ft
- Devils Elbow56
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 56
- Atlantic croaker 55
- Atlantic tarpon 53
2 kt EL 4:51 AM · 1.6 ftH 10:15 AM · 2.2 ft
- Long Bayou56
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 56
- Red drum 55
- Common snook 52
2 kt EH 9:19 AM · 2.3 ftL 5:00 PM · 0.5 ft
- Turtlecrawl Point52
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 52
- Atlantic croaker 50
- Gray snapper 50
2 kt EH 9:19 AM · 2.3 ftL 5:00 PM · 0.5 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.