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Florida pompanoRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook65
- Gag grouper64
- Atlantic croaker63
- Red drum62
- Red grouper62
- Red snapper62
- Gray snapper61
- Gray triggerfish61
- Atlantic tarpon60
- Black drum59
- Spanish mackerel58
- Florida pompano57
- King mackerel55
- Greater amberjack54
- Southern flounder54
- Permit53
- Crevalle jack52
- Spotted seatrout48
- Cobia46
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 579 PM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cat Point Bank 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 · 9 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
79Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.2 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
44Water temp: 89°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
73Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Florida pompano
Retention open- Daily limit
- 6 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 11 in, fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, and beach or haul seine only. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round in state and federal waters.
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
- 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
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Florida pompano is best here
Shoulder season for Florida pompano · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cat Point Bank
- Depth
- 3-8 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bank · Inner · Semi-exposedBank · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonFlorida pompano
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 Cat Point Bank
Cat Point Bank is a bar in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bank, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gag grouper and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for gag grouper, red grouper, red snapper and gray triggerfish. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gag grouper peak from October through December. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- Gag grouper
- Gag hold on ledges, rock piles and wrecks, from 15 to 40 feet in the fall on Florida's Gulf coast out to 250 feet the rest of the year. Troll deep-diving plugs to find productive rocks, then anchor and drop or freeline live pinfish or pigfish on a strong circle hook. Keep the drag tight and turn the fish in the first few seconds or it will reach the rocks.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Maximo Channel75
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 75
- Atlantic tarpon 73
- Atlantic croaker 71
6 kt ENEH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ftL 4:14 AM · 1.4 ft
- Main Channel72
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Common snook 71
- Atlantic tarpon 68
6 kt ENEH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ftL 4:14 AM · 1.4 ft
- Cats Point67
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 67
- Gray snapper 65
- Red drum 65
6 kt ENEH 12:20 AM · 1.9 ftL 5:20 AM · 1.4 ft
- Middle Ground65
Bar · 0.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 65
- Atlantic croaker 63
- Red drum 62
6 kt ENEH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ftL 4:14 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.