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PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Gray snapper72
- Red drum72
- Atlantic croaker71
- Common snook69
- Atlantic tarpon65
- Southern flounder60
- Black drum59
- Crevalle jack58
- Permit58
- Red snapper57
- Spanish mackerel57
- Gag grouper55
- Gray triggerfish53
- Red grouper53
- Cobia50
- Greater amberjack49
- Florida pompano48
- King mackerel48
- Spotted seatrout48
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 PM · Permit
- Now
- 5811 PM EDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when East 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 · 11 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
83Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.4 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
88Wind: 4 kt EPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
63Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
55Season: 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 today
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
East Bay
- Depth
- 30-40 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
- 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 East Bay
East Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 30-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for gray snapper, red drum, Atlantic croaker and common snook, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, black drum and crevalle jack. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.
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.
- 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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Sparkman Channel74
Channel · 1.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Common snook 73
- Red drum 73
4 kt EH 1:16 AM · 2.3 ftL 5:05 AM · 1.6 ft
- Pendola Point73
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Gray snapperPeak season- Gray snapper 73
- Common snook 68
- Red drum 68
4 kt EH 2:08 AM · 2.1 ftL 4:31 AM · 2.1 ft
- McKay Bay72
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Red drum 72
- Gray snapper 71
4 kt EH 1:16 AM · 2.3 ftL 5:05 AM · 1.6 ft
- Black Point67
Cape · 1.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 67
- Red drum 67
- Gray snapper 66
4 kt EH 12:54 AM · 2.3 ftL 5:12 AM · 2.0 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.