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PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook77
- Gray snapper75
- Red drum73
- Atlantic croaker72
- Atlantic tarpon69
- Spanish mackerel69
- Crevalle jack68
- Permit66
- Southern flounder66
- Florida pompano65
- Black drum61
- Gag grouper59
- King mackerel58
- Cobia57
- Spotted seatrout57
- Gray triggerfish56
- Red grouper56
- Red snapper56
- Greater amberjack55
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 PM · Permit
- Now
- 667 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7-10 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Clearwater 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 · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
92Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 5 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
86Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.6 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
Clearwater Bay
- Depth
- 2-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- 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 Clearwater Bay
Clearwater Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-10 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 red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, crevalle jack and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Red drum peak from September 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.
- 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
- Clearwater Pass81
Channel · 0.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 81
- Gray snapper 76
- Atlantic croaker 75
5 kt ENEH 9:16 AM · 2.9 ftL 4:23 PM · 0.6 ft
- Clearwater Harbor78
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 78
- Gray snapper 77
- Atlantic croaker 74
5 kt ENEH 9:16 AM · 2.9 ftL 4:23 PM · 0.6 ft
- Mandalay Channel78
Channel · 1.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 78
- Gray snapper 76
- Atlantic croaker 75
5 kt ENEH 9:16 AM · 2.9 ftL 4:23 PM · 0.6 ft
- Pope Channel78
Channel · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 78
- Gray snapper 76
- Atlantic croaker 75
5 kt ENEH 9:16 AM · 2.9 ftL 4:23 PM · 0.6 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.