Waterlands

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PermitRetention open

Cape · Florida

Shirk Point

30.48°N · 86.47°W · Cape · Western Choctawhatchee Bay

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Best score today · 6 AM · Permit

68/100Great
Now
305 PM CST
Best window
5-7 PMDusk
Tide now
Ebbing0.4 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 7 · 3 PM

Time3P
Score35Fair
Tide0.3 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward N
Wind5 kn NNWgusts 13 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 4 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy31% cloud
Water76°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Permit

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Slot 11 to 22 in, fork length. One fish over 22 inches allowed per person, counted in the bag limit.
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
No more than 2 permit over 22 inches per vessel. Hook and line only in state waters. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Outside the Special Permit Zone. Open year-round.

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
  • 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)
  • 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)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Permit is best here

Out of season for Permit · shoulder season starts in 17 weeks

Permit season by week of the year. Out of season for Permit · shoulder season starts in 17 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Permit in Florida →

Spot profile

Shirk Point

Depth
2-8 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Off seasonPermit

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 Shirk Point

Shirk Point is a cape in Western Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 2-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for king mackerel, gray triggerfish, red grouper and sheepshead. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. King mackerel peak in May and in October. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Permit
Permit cruise flat edges and channels in 2 to 6 feet of water in the Keys and Biscayne Bay, and school over wrecks and reefs in 30 to 120 feet, especially during the spring spawn. A live or artificial crab is the standard bait, cast ahead of a tailing fish on the flats or dropped to a school on a wreck. They spook easily in shallow water, so good light and a long, quiet cast are needed.
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.
King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Shirk Bayou

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    60
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 60
    • King mackerel 55
    • Florida pompano 52

    8 kt SEL 7:39 PM · 0.3 ftH 8:07 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Boggy Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    60
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 60
    • King mackerel 55
    • Florida pompano 52

    8 kt SEL 7:39 PM · 0.3 ftH 8:07 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Boggy Bayou

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    60
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 60
    • King mackerel 55
    • Florida pompano 52

    8 kt SEL 7:39 PM · 0.3 ftH 8:07 AM · 0.6 ft

  • John Bayou

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    58
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 58
    • Florida pompano 52
    • King mackerel 52

    8 kt SEL 8:36 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:09 AM · 0.5 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.