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BoatFlorida Gulf State Waters: Panhandle RegionSheepshead · Open

Pensacola Bay

30.39°N · 87.18°W

Species

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14-Day Forecast

Data from: ECMWF + GFS + BlueCaster
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24-Hour Conditions

All times CDT

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Conditions
Time
12 PM
Now
Score
67
Fair
Tide
0.1 ft ▼
Ebbing
Current
—
Ebb
Wind
14 kn
ESE · steady
Sea state
Choppy
1.5 ft @ 5 s SE
Air temp
76°
Warm
Weather
Overcast
97% cloud
Hour 12 PM. Score 67 Fair. Tide 0.1ft Falling ▼. Current -1.2kn Ebb. Wind 14kn ESE G20. Sea 1.5 ft @ 5 s SE Choppy. Air 75.7°.

Why this score

Current
Slack
Prime

Current regulations

In effect now

What you can keep at this spot today

Sheepshead
Retention open
Daily limit
8 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 12"
Gear
Legal gear: hook and line, cast net, seine, spear or gig. Illegal: multiple hooks used with live or dead natural bait; snatching prohibited.
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Minimum size 12 in total length. Vessel limit 50 per trip during March and April. State regulations extend into federal waters. Special regulations apply in Biscayne National Park (not applicable to this area).
Other species here
Red Drum Retention openSpanish Mackerel Retention openGray Snapper Retention openCommon Snook Retention openSpotted Seatrout Retention open
Always check with FWC ↗

Source: FWC · Florida Gulf State Waters: Panhandle Region · synced today

Seasonality

52-week view · today highlighted

When Sheepshead is best at this spot

Shoulder seasonShoulder season for Sheepshead
~6 more weeks in shoulder
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Peak seasonShoulder seasonOff season

SPOT PROFILE

DEPTH
8-25 ft
Sand
STRUCTURE
Bay
Inner Protected

Nearby Spots

View all on map →

Other productive spots within easy run

Town Point
Florida Gulf State Waters: Panhandle Region
77
Top: Gray SnapperSHOULDER SEASON
Gray Snapper 77 · Red Drum 77 · Sheepshead 77
0006121824
14 kt E
H 2:50 AM · 0.7 m
L 3:25 PM · -0.1 m
Butcherpen Cove
Florida Gulf State Waters: Panhandle Region
77
Top: SheepsheadSHOULDER SEASON
Sheepshead 77 · Red Drum 77 · Gray Snapper 77
0006121824
14 kt E
H 6:42 AM · 0.4 m
L 4:27 PM · -0.0 m
Bayou Texar
Florida Gulf State Waters: Panhandle Region
77
Top: Red DrumPEAK SEASON
Red Drum 77 · Sheepshead 77 · Gray Snapper 77
0006121824
13 kt SE
H 2:50 AM · 0.7 m
L 3:25 PM · -0.1 m
English Navy Cove
Florida Gulf State Waters: Panhandle Region
77
Top: Red DrumPEAK SEASON
Red Drum 77 · Sheepshead 77 · Gray Snapper 77
0006121824
14 kt E
H 2:50 AM · 0.7 m
L 3:25 PM · -0.1 m

About Pensacola Bay

Pensacola Bay is a protected inner bay along the Florida Panhandle, with sand bottom running 10 to 25 feet deep in sheltered water off Pensacola. Red drum peak in September and October and respond to inshore casting with soft plastic jerkbaits, jigheads with paddletails, gold spoons, and topwater plugs, while popping cork rigs with live shrimp work the shallower sand flats. Sheepshead take over from January through March, and anglers bottom fish for them with fiddler crabs, live shrimp, sand fleas, and oysters. Gray snapper peak from May through August on live shrimp, cut bait, live pinfish, and squid fished on the bottom in the deeper 20- to 25-foot sections. Spanish mackerel run from April through October and hit small spoons and straw rigs on the troll or metal jigs and gotcha plugs cast into feeding schools, and common snook round out the bay's target species.

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Pensacola Bay is one of the spots we track around Pensacola. More spots in Pensacola · All of Florida.

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