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Shore spot · River mouthFlorida Gulf State Waters: Sarasota Bay RegionSheepshead · Open

Longboat Pass

27.44°N · 82.69°W

Species

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14-Day Forecast

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

All times EDT

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Conditions
Time
1 PM
Now
Score
74
Fair
Tide
0.0 ft ▼
Ebbing
Current
—
Ebb
Wind
11 kn
E · steady
Sea state
Easy
1 ft chop
Air temp
83°
Warm
Weather
Partly cloudy
38% cloud
Hour 1 PM. Score 74 Fair. Tide 0.0ft Falling ▼. Current -0.4kn Ebb. Wind 11kn E G17. Sea 1 ft chop Easy. Air 82.9°.

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: hook and line, cast net, seine, spear or gig. Illegal: multiple hooks with live or dead natural bait; snatching.
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Minimum 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 relevant here).
Other species here
Red Drum Retention openSpanish Mackerel Retention openGray Snapper Retention openCommon Snook Retention open
Always check with FWC ↗

Source: FWC · Florida Gulf State Waters: Sarasota Bay Region · synced today

Seasonality

52-week view · today highlighted

When Sheepshead is best at this spot

Shoulder seasonShoulder season for Sheepshead
~2 more weeks in shoulder
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Peak seasonShoulder seasonOff season

SHORE PROFILE

FISHED FROM
River mouth
ACCESS
On foot
No boat needed
GETTING THERE
Park at the north end of Coquina Beach and walk to the pass shoreline and bridge area. Strong currents run here, so fish the tide changes.
HOW IT'S FISHED
Bottom fishing with live shrimp in the current

Nearby Spots

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Other productive spots within easy run

Near Shore Reef
Florida Gulf State Waters: Sarasota Bay Region
84
Top: SheepsheadSHOULDER SEASON
Sheepshead 84 · Gray Snapper 84 · Spanish Mackerel 84
0006121824
11 kt E
H 4:07 AM · 0.8 m
L 1:32 PM · -0.0 m
Palma Sola Causeway
Florida Gulf State Waters: Sarasota Bay Region
85
Top: Spotted SeatroutPEAK SEASON
Spotted Seatrout 85 · Red Drum 85 · Common Snook 85
0006121824
11 kt E
H 4:07 AM · 0.8 m
L 1:32 PM · -0.0 m
1 Mile Reef
Florida Gulf State Waters: Sarasota Bay Region
83
Top: Gray SnapperSHOULDER SEASON
Gray Snapper 83 · Sheepshead 83 · Spanish Mackerel 83
0006121824
10 kt E
H 3:16 AM · 0.7 m
L — · 0.0 m
Walker Reef
Florida Gulf State Waters: Sarasota Bay Region
83
Top: SheepsheadSHOULDER SEASON
Sheepshead 83 · Gray Snapper 83 · Spotted Seatrout 83
0006121824
11 kt E
H 2:34 AM · 0.7 m
L — · 0.0 m

About Longboat Pass

Longboat Pass is a tidal inlet in the Sarasota Bay Region of Florida's Gulf state waters, where bay water funnels out to the open Gulf on each tide. Sheepshead hold here from December through March and respond to bottom fishing with live shrimp, fiddler crabs, sand fleas, or oysters, while gray snapper take over from June through August on live shrimp, live pilchards, cut sardines, and squid fished near the bottom. Common snook peak from May through July, and anglers target them with live pilchards, live pinfish, or live threadfin herring drifted through the moving current, or with paddletail swimbaits and bucktail jigs worked along the edges of the flow. Spanish mackerel run in two windows, March through May and September through November, and hit small spoons, jigs, and plugs cast into the faster water. Red drum peak in September and October, when sight casting with gold spoons or soft plastic jerkbaits and bottom fishing with cut mullet or blue crabs both produce as the tide carries bait through the pass.

CUSTOM ALERT
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Longboat Pass is one of the spots we track around Sarasota. More spots in Sarasota · All of Florida.

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