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Best score today · 8 PM · Sheepshead

85/100Epic

Now: 3312 AM EDT
Best window: 7-11 PMFlood tide
Tide now: High1.8 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: Tue · 86

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time12ANOW

Score33Fair

Tide1.8 ftHigh

CurrentSlack0.1 kn

Wind5 kn ESEgusts 10 · steady

Sea stateLight chop1.0 ft · 3 s

Air temp74°Warm

WeatherClear2% cloud

Water87°FObserved

TUE · SEP 22

NOW

1A

2A

3A

4A

5A

6A

7A

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

33

34

35

34

35

○0.1

○0.0

0.2

○0.0

0.2

0.7

1.1

1.2

0.8

0.3

○0.0

0.2

0.9

1.6

1.8

1.4

0.6

○0.0

0.3

1.2

1.9

1.8

1.2

0.6

105

94

84

74

84

94

93

103

102

112

122

123

113

83

63

64

74

1.0

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.7

0.6

0.5

35%

57%

73%

80%

82%

80%

76%

70%

59%

41%

87°

86°

87°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)

Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Sheepshead in Florida →

Spot profile

Longboat Pass

Depth: 2-15 ftSlope
Structure: Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · slope
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 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 Atlantic croaker, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano, black drum and southern flounder. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.

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.
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

View all on map →

Palma Sola Bay
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Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Common snook 67
- Gray snapper 60
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Millar Bay
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Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
- Atlantic croaker 69
- Common snook 61
- Gray snapper 56
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Grassy Point Bayou
Bay · 3.6 mi
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Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
- Atlantic croaker 68
- Common snook 64
- Red drum 64
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Cow Point
Cape · 1.4 mi
64
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
- Atlantic croaker 64
- Common snook 57
- Gray snapper 51
5 kt ESEL 4:10 AM · 1.6 ftH 9:33 AM · 2.3 ft