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Spotted seatroutRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook81
- Gray snapper77
- Crevalle jack70
- Red drum70
- Spanish mackerel70
- Atlantic croaker69
- Atlantic tarpon68
- Southern flounder67
- Florida pompano65
- King mackerel65
- Permit62
- Cobia60
- Spotted seatrout60
- Black drum58
- Gag grouper57
- Greater amberjack57
- Gray triggerfish53
- Red grouper53
- Red snapper53
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 PM · Spotted seatrout
- Now
- 608 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Buttonwood Harbor 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 · 8 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.6 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
69Wind: 4 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
52Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Spotted seatrout
Species seasonality
68Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Spotted seatrout
Retention open- Daily limit
- 3 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Slot 15 to 19 in, total length. One fish over 19 inches per vessel, or per person when fishing from shore, counted in the bag limit.
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Must stay whole until landed ashore. For-hire captain and crew may not keep a bag limit. Hook and line or cast net only. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round. Regional rules apply in inland, state and adjacent federal waters. New regional rules took effect April 1, 2026.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Spotted Seatrout, 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)
- 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 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
- Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Spotted seatrout is best here
Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Buttonwood Harbor
- Depth
- 1-7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonSpotted seatrout
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 Buttonwood Harbor
Buttonwood Harbor is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for crevalle jack, Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Crevalle jack peak from May through July.
Tackle & technique
- Spotted seatrout
- Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
- 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.
- Gray snapper
- Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Sarasota Bay81
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 81
- Gray snapper 75
- Red drum 74
4 kt EH 12:11 AM · 1.8 ftL 4:54 AM · 2.0 ft
- Millar Bay81
Bay · 3.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 81
- Gray snapper 75
- Red drum 74
4 kt EH 11:52 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:00 AM · 1.4 ft
- Long Bar Point78
Cape · 3.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 78
- Common snook 76
- Atlantic tarpon 74
4 kt EH 12:11 AM · 1.8 ftL 4:54 AM · 2.0 ft
- Cranes Bayou77
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 77
- Common snook 76
- Gray snapper 71
4 kt EH 12:22 AM · 1.6 ftL 5:08 AM · 1.6 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.