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Best score today · 11 PM · Sheepshead

79/100Great

Now: 357 AM EDT
Best window: 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now: Low1.4 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: Wed · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time7ANOW

Score35Fair

Tide1.4 ftLow

CurrentEbb0.2 kn · toward SSW

Wind4 kn ESEgusts 7 · steady

Sea stateCalm0.2 ft · 3 s

Air temp75°Warm

WeatherMostly cloudy84% cloud

Water88°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

4A

5A

6A

NOW

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

12A

1A

2A

3A

35

34

35

0.4

0.6

0.5

0.2

○0.2

0.6

0.8

0.7

0.5

○0.1

0.4

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.0

0.6

○0.0

0.6

1.1

1.2

1.1

0.7

○0.1

84

74

64

73

93

104

103

102

124

136

148

127

105

84

85

74

0.2

0.1

34%

47%

59%

71%

80%

84%

85%

86%

89%

92%

86%

64%

33%

88°

89°

88°

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

Picnic Island Creek

Depth: Up to 1 ftFlat bottom
Structure: Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
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 Picnic Island Creek

Picnic Island Creek is a gut in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is up to 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, 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, southern flounder, black drum and permit. 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

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 →

Christmas Pass
Channel · 3.5 mi
62
Top: Common snookPeak season
- Common snook 62
- Atlantic croaker 59
- Red drum 59
4 kt ESEH 1:03 PM · 2.8 ftL 8:14 PM · 0.5 ft
Port Tampa Channel
Channel · 1.5 mi
60
Top: Common snookPeak season
- Common snook 60
- Atlantic croaker 59
- Gray snapper 56
4 kt ESEH 1:03 PM · 2.8 ftL 8:14 PM · 0.5 ft
South Gandy Channel
Channel · 3.9 mi
60
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
- Atlantic croaker 60
- Common snook 60
- Gray snapper 56
4 kt ESEH 1:03 PM · 2.8 ftL 8:14 PM · 0.5 ft
Papys Point
Cape · 3.3 mi
59
Top: Red drumPeak season
- Red drum 59
- Common snook 55
- Atlantic tarpon 53
4 kt ESEH 1:03 PM · 2.8 ftL 8:14 PM · 0.5 ft