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Atlantic tarponCatch & releaseSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Florida pompano64
- Spanish mackerel63
- Red drum61
- Spotted seatrout60
- Common snook57
- King mackerel54
- Black drum51
- Gray snapper51
- Sheepshead48
- Gray triggerfish45
- Red grouper45
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · Atlantic tarpon
- Now
- 351 PM EST
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.2 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Soldier Hole scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Wednesday, Nov 4 · 8 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
64Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
99Water temp: 76°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Atlantic tarpon
Species seasonality
32Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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 Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- 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 Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Atlantic tarpon is best here
Out of season for Atlantic tarpon · shoulder season starts in 22 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Soldier Hole
- Depth
- 2-6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Off 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 Soldier Hole
Soldier Hole is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and red drum. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, black drum and gray snapper. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November.
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.
- 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.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Bunces Pass64
Channel · 1.8 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 64
- Florida pompano 63
- Red drum 61
10 kt EH 8:28 PM · 1.3 ftL 12:52 AM · 1.1 ft
- Mullet Key Bayou62
Bay · 1.0 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 62
- Spotted seatrout 59
- Florida pompano 57
10 kt EH 8:28 PM · 1.3 ftL 12:52 AM · 1.1 ft
- Mullet Key Channel62
Channel · 2.4 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 62
- Spanish mackerel 58
- Spotted seatrout 56
12 kt ESEH 8:28 PM · 1.3 ftL 12:52 AM · 1.1 ft
- De Soto Point60
Cape · 0.3 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 60
- Spanish mackerel 58
- Red drum 57
12 kt ESEH 8:28 PM · 1.3 ftL 12:52 AM · 1.1 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.