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SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook69
- Spotted seatrout69
- Red drum67
- Black drum66
- Spanish mackerel60
- Gray snapper59
- Sheepshead57
- Florida pompano52
- King mackerel52
- Gray triggerfish51
- Red grouper51
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 8 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 572 AM EST
- Best window
- 5-10 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.2 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Devils Elbow 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
Saturday, Nov 7 · 9 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 3 kt NPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
76Water temp: 77°F, warmLight: MorningSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
62Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
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 Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- 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 Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Sheepshead is best here
Shoulder season for Sheepshead · 12 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Devils Elbow
- Depth
- 3-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder 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 Devils Elbow
Devils Elbow is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, spotted seatrout and red drum. It is peak season now for spotted seatrout, red drum, Spanish mackerel and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, gray snapper and sheepshead. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November.
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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Blind Pass71
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 71
- Spanish mackerel 69
- Spotted seatrout 69
5 kt EL 3:36 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:04 AM · 1.8 ft
- Boca Ciega Bay68
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 68
- Red drum 66
- Spotted seatrout 66
5 kt EL 3:36 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:04 AM · 1.8 ft
- Long Bayou59
Bay · 2.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 59
- Spotted seatrout 57
- Common snook 54
5 kt EL 2:16 AM · 1.1 ftH 8:08 AM · 1.9 ft
- Turtlecrawl Point54
Cape · 2.9 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 54
- Red drum 52
- Spotted seatrout 52
5 kt EL 2:16 AM · 1.1 ftH 8:08 AM · 1.9 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.