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PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Spanish mackerel79
- Spotted seatrout78
- Red drum76
- Common snook73
- King mackerel69
- Black drum68
- Gray snapper66
- Florida pompano65
- Sheepshead62
- Gray triggerfish58
- Red grouper57
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 8 AM · Permit
- Now
- 353 PM EST
- Best window
- 8-10 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.9 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
Tuesday, Nov 17 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
88Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.5 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
91Wind: 2 kt NNEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
88Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
37Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: 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 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)
- 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))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- 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 Permit is best here
Out of season for Permit · shoulder season starts in 17 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Hunter Pass
- Depth
- Up to 4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · flat bottom
- Season
- Off 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 Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout and red drum. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout, red drum and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, black drum and gray snapper. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November.
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.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
- 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
- Little Cockroach Rock Pass80
Channel · 3.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 80
- Spotted seatrout 80
- Spanish mackerel 79
2 kt SWL 4:55 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:17 PM · 1.9 ft
- Double Bayou Pass76
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 76
- Spanish mackerel 75
- Spotted seatrout 75
2 kt SWL 4:26 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:53 PM · 2.3 ft
- Sand Point72
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season- Spotted seatrout 72
- Red drum 71
- Spanish mackerel 71
2 kt SWL 4:55 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:17 PM · 1.9 ft
- Mangrove Point71
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 71
- Spanish mackerel 71
- Spotted seatrout 71
2 kt SWL 4:26 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:53 PM · 2.3 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.