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SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Spanish mackerel85
- Florida pompano81
- Common snook80
- Red drum80
- Spotted seatrout80
- King mackerel75
- Gray snapper71
- Black drum65
- Sheepshead61
- Gray triggerfish56
- Red grouper56
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 615 PM EST
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.9 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.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Friday, Nov 6 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
78Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.6 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt WNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
75Water temp: 79°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
62Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: 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 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)
- 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 Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Sheepshead is best here
Shoulder season for Sheepshead · 12 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Longboat Pass
- Depth
- 2-15 ftSlope
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · slope
- Season
- Shoulder 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 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 Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and common snook. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, gray snapper and black drum. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.
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.
- 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.
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Grassy Point Bayou81
Bay · 3.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 81
- Spotted seatrout 79
- Spanish mackerel 74
8 kt EH 8:17 PM · 1.7 ftL 11:26 PM · 1.4 ft
- Millar Bay80
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 80
- Florida pompano 79
- Red drum 79
8 kt EH 8:44 PM · 1.7 ftL 1:33 AM · 1.4 ft
- Palma Sola Bay79
Bay · 3.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 79
- Spanish mackerel 78
- Spotted seatrout 78
8 kt EH 9:30 PM · 1.7 ftL 2:15 AM · 1.2 ft
- Cow Point76
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 76
- Florida pompano 75
- Red drum 75
8 kt EH 8:44 PM · 1.7 ftL 1:33 AM · 1.4 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.