UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook58
- Gag grouper56
- Atlantic tarpon54
- Red drum54
- Atlantic croaker53
- Red grouper53
- Red snapper53
- Spanish mackerel53
- Black drum52
- Florida pompano52
- Gray snapper52
- Gray triggerfish52
- King mackerel50
- Southern flounder48
- Permit47
- Greater amberjack46
- Crevalle jack44
- Spotted seatrout41
- Cobia40
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 356 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.6 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 · 6 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
54Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
86Wind: 1 kt NPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
54Water temp: 89°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
26Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Sheepshead
Retention open- Daily limit
- 8 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 12 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- State rules extend into federal waters. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, seine, spear or gig. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round. A 50-fish vessel limit applies in March and April.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Sheepshead, 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))
- 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 Sheepshead is best here
Out of season for Sheepshead · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cat Point Bank
- Depth
- 3-8 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bank · Inner · Semi-exposedBank · flat bottom
- Season
- Off seasonSheepshead
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 tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for gag grouper, Atlantic tarpon, red grouper and red snapper. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gag grouper peak from October through December. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
Tackle & technique
- Sheepshead
- Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
- 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 Channel64
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Atlantic croaker 62
- Atlantic tarpon 61
1 kt NH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ftL 4:14 AM · 1.4 ft
- Main Channel64
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Atlantic croaker 62
- Atlantic tarpon 62
1 kt NH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ftL 4:14 AM · 1.4 ft
- Middle Ground58
Bar · 0.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 58
- Red drum 54
- Atlantic tarpon 54
1 kt NH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ftL 4:14 AM · 1.4 ft
- Cats Point52
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 52
- Red drum 48
- Atlantic croaker 47
1 kt NH 12:20 AM · 1.9 ftL 5:20 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.