Waterlands

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Atlantic tarponCatch & release

Channel · Florida

Mullet Key Channel

27.61°N · 82.70°W · Channel · Tampa Bay waters

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Atlantic tarpon

77/100Great
Now
605 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.1 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 · 84

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score60Good
Tide0.1 ftLow
CurrentEbb0.8 kn · toward WSW
Wind1 kn NEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 5 s
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy98% chance of rain
Water88°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Tarpon

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Tarpon over 40 inches must stay in the water. Special gear rules apply year-round in Boca Grande Pass. Hook and line only. No snagging, snatch hooking, spearing, or multiple hooks with natural bait. Applies in state and federal waters of the Gulf and Atlantic.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Tarpon, 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))
  • 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)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Atlantic tarpon is best here

Shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon · 1 more week at shoulder

Atlantic tarpon season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon · 1 more week at shoulder.
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Atlantic tarpon in Florida →

Spot profile

Mullet Key Channel

Depth
30-50 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Outer · ExposedChannel · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonAtlantic tarpon

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 Mullet Key Channel

Mullet Key Channel is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 30-50 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, outer water and exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Atlantic tarpon
Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Soldier Hole

    Bay · 2.4 mi

    61
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 61
    • Gray snapper 57
    • Atlantic tarpon 57

    1 kt NEH 11:48 PM · 1.3 ftL 4:08 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Mullet Key Bayou

    Bay · 2.4 mi

    58
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 58
    • Atlantic croaker 55
    • Common snook 54

    2 kt WNWH 11:48 PM · 1.3 ftL 4:08 AM · 1.0 ft

  • De Soto Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    56
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 56
    • Gray snapper 52
    • Red drum 52

    1 kt NEH 11:48 PM · 1.3 ftL 4:08 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Mullet Key Shoal

    Bar · 1.0 mi

    55
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 55
    • Gray snapper 52
    • Red drum 52

    1 kt NEH 11:48 PM · 1.3 ftL 4:08 AM · 1.0 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.