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SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker77
- Common snook72
- Atlantic tarpon69
- Gray snapper68
- Red drum68
- Permit62
- Southern flounder61
- Crevalle jack60
- Florida pompano60
- Black drum59
- Spanish mackerel57
- Spotted seatrout55
- Gag grouper54
- King mackerel53
- Gray triggerfish50
- Red grouper50
- Red snapper50
- Greater amberjack48
- Cobia47
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 10 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 359 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.0 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 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
59Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.7 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
56Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: DawnSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
41Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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)
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
Spot profile
South Channel
- Depth
- 1-4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 South Channel
South Channel is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, southern flounder and crevalle jack. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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
- Pass-a-Grille South Channel77
Channel · 0.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 77
- Common snook 72
- Atlantic tarpon 69
5 kt EL 5:34 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:18 AM · 1.7 ft
- Dents Channel77
Channel · 0.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 77
- Common snook 72
- Atlantic tarpon 69
5 kt EL 5:34 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:18 AM · 1.7 ft
- North Channel77
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 77
- Common snook 72
- Atlantic tarpon 69
5 kt EL 5:34 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:18 AM · 1.7 ft
- Pass-a-Grille North Channel77
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 77
- Common snook 72
- Atlantic tarpon 69
5 kt EL 5:34 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:18 AM · 1.7 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.