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Florida pompanoRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook75
- Atlantic tarpon74
- Atlantic croaker72
- Gray snapper72
- Red drum71
- Southern flounder65
- Black drum62
- Permit62
- Crevalle jack60
- Spotted seatrout59
- Gag grouper57
- Red snapper57
- Spanish mackerel55
- Florida pompano53
- Gray triggerfish53
- Red grouper53
- Greater amberjack52
- King mackerel52
- Cobia48
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 6 PM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 5312 AM EDT
- Best window
- 2-7 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Tampa Bay 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 · 12 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
35Water temp: 88°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Florida pompano
Species seasonality
55Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Florida pompano
Retention open- Daily limit
- 6 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 11 in, fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line, cast net, and beach or haul seine only. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Open year-round in state and federal waters.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Permit, Florida pompano and African pompano, 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
- 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
- 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 Florida pompano is best here
Shoulder season for Florida pompano · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Tampa Bay Channel
- Depth
- 10-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonFlorida pompano
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 Tampa Bay Channel
Tampa Bay Channel is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 10-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, black drum and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Big Bayou74
Bay · 3.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 74
- Common snook 70
- Atlantic croaker 69
5 kt EH 1:52 AM · 1.9 ftL 6:25 AM · 1.4 ft
- Tampa Bay72
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 69
- Gray snapper 68
4 kt ESEH 1:52 AM · 1.9 ftL 6:25 AM · 1.4 ft
- Little Bayou72
Bay · 3.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 72
- Atlantic croaker 69
- Common snook 68
5 kt EH 1:30 AM · 1.7 ftL 5:56 AM · 1.2 ft
- Smacks Bayou69
Bay · 4.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Red drum 69
- Common snook 67
4 kt ESEH 1:52 AM · 1.9 ftL 6:25 AM · 1.4 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.