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PermitRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker67
- Common snook62
- Florida pompano57
- Gray snapper57
- Red drum56
- Atlantic tarpon55
- Black drum52
- Spanish mackerel49
- Permit48
- Southern flounder47
- Red snapper44
- Gag grouper43
- Crevalle jack42
- Gray triggerfish41
- Red grouper41
- King mackerel38
- Spotted seatrout38
- Cobia37
- Greater amberjack36
- Sheepshead29
Best score today · 8 AM · Permit
- Now
- 485 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5-11 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.9 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 5 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
43Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt NNEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
64Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Permit
Species seasonality
45Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: 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
Long Shoal
- Depth
- 4-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · 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 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 Atlantic croaker, common snook and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, black drum and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October 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.
- 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
- Hillsborough Channel76
Channel · 1.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 76
- Common snook 67
- Atlantic tarpon 63
6 kt NNEH 5:23 AM · 2.9 ftL 3:20 PM · 0.5 ft
- Hillsborough Bay73
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 73
- Common snook 63
- Gray snapper 61
6 kt NNEH 6:18 AM · 2.8 ftL 3:04 PM · 0.6 ft
- Long Bar67
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 67
- Common snook 62
- Florida pompano 57
6 kt NNEH 5:23 AM · 2.9 ftL 3:20 PM · 0.5 ft
- Catfish Point67
Cape · 1.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 67
- Red drum 65
- Common snook 62
6 kt NNEH 5:23 AM · 2.9 ftL 3:20 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.