Waterlands

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Spotted seatroutRetention open

Cape · Florida

Point Pinellas

27.70°N · 82.64°W · Cape · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 8 PM · Spotted seatrout

68/100Great
Now
5110 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.2 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 PM · now

Time10PNOW
Score51Good
Tide1.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward NE
Wind4 kn Egusts 7 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.2 ft · 4 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherClear9% cloud
Water88°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Spotted seatrout

Retention open
Daily limit
3 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Slot 15 to 19 in, total length. One fish over 19 inches per vessel, or per person when fishing from shore, counted in the bag limit.
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Must stay whole until landed ashore. For-hire captain and crew may not keep a bag limit. Hook and line or cast net only. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round. Regional rules apply in inland, state and adjacent federal waters. New regional rules took effect April 1, 2026.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Spotted Seatrout, 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
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Spotted seatrout is best here

Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Spotted seatrout in Florida

Spot profile

Point Pinellas

Depth
1-15 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSpotted seatrout

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 Point Pinellas

Point Pinellas is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 1-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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, red snapper, gag grouper 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

Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
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

  • Little Bayou

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    77
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 77
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Common snook 69

    4 kt EH 1:25 AM · 1.6 ftL 3:57 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Big Bayou

    Bay · 2.5 mi

    77
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 77
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Common snook 69

    4 kt EH 1:47 AM · 1.9 ftL 4:26 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Sunshine Skyway Channel

    Channel · 2.7 mi

    72
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 72
    • Common snook 70
    • Atlantic tarpon 69

    4 kt EH 8:47 AM · 2.3 ftL 4:40 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Maximo Channel

    Channel · 3.3 mi

    72
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 72
    • Common snook 70
    • Atlantic tarpon 69

    4 kt EH 8:47 AM · 2.3 ftL 4:40 PM · 0.6 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.