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PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker76
- Common snook71
- Atlantic tarpon66
- Gray snapper64
- Red drum63
- Florida pompano57
- Permit56
- Southern flounder56
- Black drum55
- Spanish mackerel54
- Crevalle jack52
- Cobia48
- Spotted seatrout47
- King mackerel45
- Red snapper44
- Gag grouper43
- Gray triggerfish41
- Red grouper41
- Greater amberjack38
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Permit
- Now
- 564 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7-11 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hunter Pass 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, Sep 19 · 8 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
49Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
90Wind: 5 kt NNEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
92Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
61Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
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
Hunter Pass
- Depth
- Up to 4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Hunter Pass
Hunter Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is up to 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 Atlantic croaker, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano, permit and southern flounder. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Double Bayou Pass76
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 76
- Common snook 69
- Red drum 64
5 kt NEH 5:41 AM · 2.8 ftL 2:47 PM · 0.5 ft
- Little Cockroach Rock Pass76
Channel · 3.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 76
- Common snook 72
- Red drum 67
5 kt NEH 6:05 AM · 2.2 ftL 3:16 PM · 0.5 ft
- Mangrove Point67
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 67
- Common snook 63
- Gray snapper 58
5 kt NEH 5:41 AM · 2.8 ftL 2:47 PM · 0.5 ft
- Sand Point67
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 67
- Common snook 64
- Gray snapper 59
5 kt NEH 6:05 AM · 2.2 ftL 3:16 PM · 0.5 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.