Waterlands

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Red snapperClosed

Bay · Florida

Longboat Pass

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

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Best score today · 6 PM · Red snapper

86/100Epic
Now
202 PM EST
Best window
4-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.3 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: today · 86

24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 7 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score55Good
Tide0.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.8 kn · toward E
Wind3 kn NNEgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 3 s
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water78°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Red snapper(private recreational)

Closed
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Aug 1, 2026 to Jan 4, 2027
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Retention open from Nov 7
Other
Closed between the 2026 open days. The fall season is daily September 1 through October 4, then weekends and holidays only through January 4, 2027. The 2027 season has not been announced.

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 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))
  • 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Red snapper is best here

Shoulder season for Red snapper · 25 more weeks at shoulder

Red snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red snapper · 25 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red snapper in Florida →

Spot profile

Longboat Pass

Depth
2-15 ftSlope
Structure
Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonRed 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 Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and red drum. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, black drum and sheepshead. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November.

Tackle & technique

Red snapper
Red snapper school over rigs, wrecks, artificial reefs and natural ledges, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Anchor or drift over the structure, chum, and drop cut or live cigar minnows, sardines or squid on circle hooks, using as little weight as the current allows. Federal rules require circle hooks with natural bait in the Gulf and a descending device or venting tool on board.
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

View all on map →
  • Grassy Point Bayou

    Bay · 3.6 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Spotted seatrout 67
    • Florida pompano 64

    11 kt ESEH 8:17 PM · 1.7 ftL 11:26 PM · 1.4 ft

  • Millar Bay

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    63
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 63
    • Spanish mackerel 62
    • Red drum 60

    11 kt ESEH 8:44 PM · 1.7 ftL 1:33 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Cow Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    59
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 59
    • Spanish mackerel 57
    • Red drum 56

    11 kt ESEH 8:44 PM · 1.7 ftL 1:33 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Palma Sola Bay

    Bay · 3.2 mi

    58
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 58
    • Spanish mackerel 57
    • Red drum 56

    11 kt ESEL 2:21 PM · 0.2 ftH 9:30 PM · 1.7 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.