Waterlands

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Atlantic tarponCatch & release

Bay · Florida

Passage Key Inlet

27.55°N · 82.73°W · Bay · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 10 PM · Atlantic tarpon

77/100Great
Now
565 PM EDT
Best window
7-11 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.5 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 · 87

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score56Good
Tide0.5 ftLow
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward WSW
Wind1 kn NEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 5 s
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy98% chance of rain
Water89°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.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
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Atlantic tarpon in Florida →

Spot profile

Passage Key Inlet

Depth
15-20 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Inlet · Inner · Semi-exposedInlet · flat bottom
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 Passage Key Inlet

Passage Key Inlet is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 15-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads inlet, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

    Channel · 2.3 mi

    58
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 58
    • Atlantic tarpon 58
    • Atlantic croaker 56

    1 kt NEH 11:58 PM · 1.4 ftL 4:05 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Bimini Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    56
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 56
    • Atlantic croaker 53
    • Atlantic tarpon 52

    1 kt NEH 11:42 PM · 1.9 ftL 4:06 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Key ROyale Bar

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    52
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 52
    • Red drum 49
    • Atlantic tarpon 49

    1 kt NEH 11:42 PM · 1.9 ftL 4:06 AM · 1.4 ft

  • The Bulkhead

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    52
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 52
    • Red drum 49
    • Atlantic tarpon 49

    1 kt NEH 11:42 PM · 1.9 ftL 4:06 AM · 1.4 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.