Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Gray snapperRetention open

Bay · Florida

Longboat Pass

27.44°N · 82.69°W · Bay · Tampa Bay waters

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 PM · Gray snapper

83/100Great
Now
663 AM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.5 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

Notify me when Longboat Pass scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Tue · 87

24-hour conditions

Sunday, Sep 27 · 3 AM

Time3A
Score76Great
Tide1.8 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.6 kn · toward W
Wind5 kn ENEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.2 ft · 3 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherClear9% cloud
Water86°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Gray snapper

Retention open
Daily limit
5 per day (10 snapper combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 10 in, total length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Open year-round in Gulf and Atlantic state waters. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Counts toward the 10-snapper aggregate per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Federal waters have a 12-inch minimum and a 10-fish bag.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Snappers, 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 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))
  • 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Gray snapper is best here

Peak season for Gray snapper · 1 more week at peak

Gray snapper season by week of the year. Peak season for Gray snapper · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gray snapper in Florida →

Spot profile

Longboat Pass

Depth
2-15 ftSlope
Structure
Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · slope
Season
Peak seasonGray snapper

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 Longboat Pass

Longboat Pass is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper 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. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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

View all on map →
  • Palma Sola Bay

    Bay · 3.2 mi

    70
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 70
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Gray snapper 65

    4 kt ESEL 5:42 AM · 1.2 ftH 11:15 AM · 2.4 ft

  • Millar Bay

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    69
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 69
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Gray snapper 65

    4 kt ESEL 5:00 AM · 1.4 ftH 10:29 AM · 2.4 ft

  • Cow Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    65
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 65
    • Gray snapper 61
    • Red drum 60

    4 kt ESEL 5:00 AM · 1.4 ftH 10:29 AM · 2.4 ft

  • Grassy Point Bayou

    Bay · 3.6 mi

    56
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 56
    • Common snook 55
    • Atlantic croaker 54

    4 kt ESEH 10:02 AM · 2.5 ftL 4:02 PM · 0.6 ft

Open in the tide map

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.