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Spotted seatroutRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook73
- Atlantic croaker71
- Gray snapper68
- Atlantic tarpon67
- Red drum66
- Black drum60
- Permit60
- Southern flounder58
- Crevalle jack57
- Gag grouper54
- Spanish mackerel53
- Red snapper52
- Spotted seatrout52
- Gray triggerfish51
- Red grouper51
- Florida pompano50
- Cobia48
- King mackerel47
- Greater amberjack46
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Spotted seatrout
- Now
- 529 PM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when South Channel 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 9 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
66Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
67Wind: 4 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
46Water temp: 86°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Spotted seatrout
Species seasonality
73Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Spotted seatrout is best here
Shoulder season for Spotted seatrout · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
South Channel
- Depth
- 1-5 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · 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 South Channel
South Channel is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, permit and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September.
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.
- 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
- Hillsborough Channel74
Channel · 3.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 74
- Atlantic croaker 73
- Gray snapper 70
4 kt EH 1:18 AM · 2.4 ftL 6:55 AM · 1.1 ft
- Hillsborough Bay74
Bay · 3.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 74
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Gray snapper 70
4 kt EH 2:13 AM · 2.2 ftL 6:30 AM · 1.7 ft
- Alafia River Channel73
Channel · 1.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 73
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Gray snapper 68
4 kt EH 1:50 AM · 2.1 ftL 7:18 AM · 1.2 ft
- The Kitchen70
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 70
- Common snook 68
- Atlantic croaker 67
4 kt EH 1:50 AM · 2.1 ftL 7:18 AM · 1.2 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.