Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Florida pompanoRetention open

Channel · Florida

Dunedin Pass

28.01°N · 82.82°W · Channel · Tampa Bay waters

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 PM · Florida pompano

84/100Great
Now
546 PM EDT
Best window
7-11 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.7 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

Notify me when Dunedin Pass scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score54Good
Tide0.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind1 kn Ngusts 12 · building
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 6 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherClear100% chance of rain
Water87°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Florida pompano is best here

Shoulder season for Florida pompano · 1 more week at shoulder

Florida pompano season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Florida pompano · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Florida pompano in Florida

Spot profile

Dunedin Pass

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Dunedin Pass

Dunedin Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, crevalle jack and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.

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.
Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Scharrer Cut

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    69
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 69
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Atlantic tarpon 65

    1 kt NH 11:29 PM · 2.4 ftL 4:41 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Scharrer Bayou

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    66
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 66
    • Common snook 64
    • Atlantic croaker 63

    1 kt NH 11:29 PM · 2.4 ftL 4:41 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Redfish Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    64
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 64
    • Red drum 59
    • Atlantic croaker 58

    1 kt NH 11:29 PM · 2.4 ftL 4:41 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Malone Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    64
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 64
    • Red drum 59
    • Atlantic croaker 58

    1 kt NH 11:29 PM · 2.4 ftL 4:41 AM · 1.5 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.