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Florida pompanoRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker70
- Common snook65
- Red drum59
- Atlantic tarpon57
- Gray snapper57
- Florida pompano54
- Southern flounder52
- Black drum51
- Permit49
- Spanish mackerel48
- Crevalle jack45
- Gag grouper44
- Red snapper44
- Spotted seatrout44
- Gray triggerfish41
- Red grouper41
- Cobia40
- King mackerel39
- Greater amberjack35
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 11 PM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 5412 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Miguel Bay 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 · 12 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
76Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
41Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
67Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Florida pompano
Retention open- Daily limit
- 6 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 11 in, fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, and beach or haul seine only. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round in state and federal waters.
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
- 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))
- 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Florida pompano is best here
Shoulder season for Florida pompano · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Miguel Bay
- Depth
- 2-5 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonFlorida pompano
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 Miguel Bay
Miguel Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano, southern flounder and black drum. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September through November.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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
- Big Miguel Pass73
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 73
- Common snook 69
- Atlantic tarpon 62
4 kt ESEL 4:53 AM · 1.3 ftH 11:02 AM · 2.4 ft
- Critical Bayou70
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 63
- Common snook 61
4 kt ESEL 4:53 AM · 1.3 ftH 11:02 AM · 2.4 ft
- Custer Bayou69
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Red drum 66
- Common snook 64
4 kt ESEH 1:04 AM · 1.8 ftL 5:28 AM · 1.4 ft
- Fletcher Point63
Cape · 0.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 63
- Common snook 60
- Red drum 54
4 kt ESEL 4:53 AM · 1.3 ftH 11:02 AM · 2.4 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.