UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
SheepsheadRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook56
- Atlantic croaker52
- Gray snapper52
- Red drum52
- Spanish mackerel50
- Atlantic tarpon48
- Florida pompano48
- Black drum47
- Gag grouper45
- Permit44
- Crevalle jack43
- Gray triggerfish42
- Red grouper42
- Red snapper42
- Southern flounder42
- King mackerel39
- Greater amberjack37
- Spotted seatrout35
- Cobia34
- Sheepshead31
Best score today · 7 PM · Sheepshead
- Now
- 314 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.7 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Three Rooker Bar 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 · 4 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
31Tide: Low slackCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
49Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Sheepshead
Species seasonality
25Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Poor fitDepth: 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 today
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
Three Rooker Bar
- Depth
- 7-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bar · Outer · ExposedBar · 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 Three Rooker Bar
Three Rooker Bar is a bar in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 7-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, outer water and exposed.
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 Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano and black drum. 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
- 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.
- 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
- Pelican Cove65
Bay · 3.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 65
- Atlantic croaker 60
- Red drum 60
5 kt NEH 11:19 PM · 2.4 ftL 3:59 AM · 1.8 ft
- Pelican Point61
Cape · 3.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 61
- Red drum 56
- Atlantic croaker 54
5 kt NEH 11:19 PM · 2.4 ftL 3:59 AM · 1.8 ft
- Saint Joseph Sound61
Bay · 3.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 61
- Atlantic croaker 58
- Gray snapper 57
5 kt NEH 10:59 PM · 2.5 ftL 3:46 AM · 1.9 ft
- Klosterman Point56
Cape · 3.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 56
- Atlantic croaker 53
- Gray snapper 53
5 kt NEH 11:04 PM · 2.5 ftL 3:54 AM · 1.9 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.