UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook66
- Gray snapper62
- Atlantic croaker60
- Red drum60
- Atlantic tarpon57
- Black drum56
- Spanish mackerel55
- Southern flounder53
- Florida pompano52
- Gag grouper51
- Permit50
- Red snapper50
- Crevalle jack49
- Gray triggerfish47
- Red grouper47
- Spotted seatrout44
- Greater amberjack43
- King mackerel43
- Cobia39
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 11 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 353 AM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.1 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Long Shoal 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
Thursday, Oct 1 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
93Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt SEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
67Water temp: 85°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
34Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Sheepshead
Retention open- Daily limit
- 8 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 12 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- State rules extend into federal waters. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, seine, spear or gig. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round. A 50-fish vessel limit applies in March and April.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Sheepshead, 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)
- 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))
- 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Sheepshead is best here
Out of season for Sheepshead · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Long Shoal
- Depth
- 4-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · flat bottom
- Season
- Off seasonSheepshead
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 Long Shoal
Long Shoal is a bar in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 4-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, Spanish mackerel and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Sheepshead
- Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Hillsborough Channel71
Channel · 1.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 71
- Atlantic croaker 69
- Gray snapper 67
4 kt ESEL 6:55 AM · 1.1 ftH 12:32 PM · 2.9 ft
- Catfish Point69
Cape · 1.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 69
- Common snook 66
- Gray snapper 62
4 kt ESEL 6:55 AM · 1.1 ftH 12:32 PM · 2.9 ft
- Hillsborough Bay68
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Common snook 66
- Gray snapper 60
4 kt ESEL 6:30 AM · 1.7 ftH 12:50 PM · 2.8 ft
- Long Bar66
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 66
- Gray snapper 62
- Atlantic croaker 60
4 kt ESEL 6:55 AM · 1.1 ftH 12:32 PM · 2.9 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.