Waterlands

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Florida pompanoShoulder season

Bay · South Carolina

Long Bay

33.59°N · 78.96°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC out 20 NM

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Best score today · 7 AM · Florida pompano

73/100Great
Now
657 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing5.2 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score65Great
Tide5.2 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind10 kn Ngusts 22 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.6 ft · 5 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water82°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Florida pompano is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with SCDNR before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Florida pompano is best here

Last week of shoulder season for Florida pompano · peak season next

Florida pompano season by week of the year. Last week of shoulder season for Florida pompano · peak season next.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Florida pompano in South Carolina

Spot profile

Long Bay

Depth
25-30 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · 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 Long Bay

Long Bay is a bay in Coastal waters from Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC out 20 NM, South Carolina. Depth is 25-30 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 28 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and king mackerel, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, gray triggerfish and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

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.
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.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.

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 SCDNR before you keep a fish.