UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum68
- Atlantic croaker60
- Common snook59
- Gray snapper56
- Atlantic tarpon54
- Permit54
- Crevalle jack52
- Black drum51
- Southern flounder50
- Spotted seatrout49
- Gag grouper47
- Spanish mackerel47
- Cobia45
- Gray triggerfish45
- Red grouper45
- Red snapper45
- Florida pompano44
- King mackerel43
- Greater amberjack40
- Sheepshead32
Best score today · 9 AM · Permit
- Now
- 545 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hells Half Acre 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
43Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
67Wind: 6 kt NEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
75Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: Out of 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
Hells Half Acre
- Depth
- Up to 1 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 Hells Half Acre
Hells Half Acre is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is up to 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic croaker and common snook. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker, common snook and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, crevalle jack and black drum. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.
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.
- 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.
- 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
- Southeast Head68
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Common snook 59
- Atlantic croaker 56
6 kt NEH 5:50 AM · 2.3 ftL 3:33 PM · 0.6 ft
- Clambar Bay68
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Common snook 59
6 kt NEH 5:50 AM · 2.3 ftL 3:33 PM · 0.6 ft
- Bishop Harbor64
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Atlantic croaker 63
- Gray snapper 63
6 kt NEH 5:50 AM · 2.3 ftL 3:33 PM · 0.6 ft
- Piney Point59
Cape · 2.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 59
- Red drum 59
- Gray snapper 56
6 kt NEH 5:50 AM · 2.3 ftL 3:33 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.