Waterlands

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Florida pompanoRetention open

Bay · Florida

Millar Bay

27.43°N · 82.67°W · Bay · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 8 PM · Florida pompano

80/100Great
Now
443 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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Tue · 83

24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Sep 30 · 5 AM

Time5A
Score55Good
Tide1.9 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb2.3 kn · toward W
Wind6 kn ESEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp68°Mild
WeatherClear16% cloud
Water86°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Florida pompano season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Florida pompano · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Florida pompano in Florida →

Spot profile

Millar Bay

Depth
1-6 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 Millar Bay

Millar Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, black drum and Spanish mackerel. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.

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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Longboat Pass

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    73
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 73
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Gray snapper 66

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

  • Buttonwood Harbor

    Bay · 3.7 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 67
    • Atlantic croaker 62
    • Gray snapper 62

    4 kt ESEL 4:54 AM · 2.0 ftH 10:48 AM · 2.3 ft

  • Long Bar Point

    Cape · 2.9 mi

    66
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 66
    • Common snook 62
    • Atlantic tarpon 59

    4 kt ESEL 4:54 AM · 2.0 ftH 10:48 AM · 2.3 ft

  • Cow Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    65
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 65
    • Gray snapper 61
    • Atlantic croaker 60

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