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Tampa Bay Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Florida's big urban estuary: 400 square miles of grass flats, mangroves and a snook-redfish-trout slam within sight of downtown.

3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Next tide
High 7:53 AM
Air / High
87 / 88 F
Wind
WSW 8 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8726520, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Tampa Bay locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 8 mph, steady pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 88. Tides: high 6:42 AM, low 3:35 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 85 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Dawn topwater over grass flats and shorelines, then follow them to deeper guts and channel edges with gold spoons and paddletails. Look for wakes and nervous bait.

Speckled troutGood

First light topwater over grass and shell, then deeper: free-lined live shrimp or croaker over 4-8 ft structure. The bite dies with the sun; night lights fish well.

Tomorrow: Similar at 87 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8726520 (St. Petersburg). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH6:42 AM2.7 ft
LOW3:35 PM0.3 ft
Sat
HIGH7:53 AM2.6 ft
LOW5:02 PM0.2 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp87 F
High / Low88 / 78 F
WindWSW 8-11 mph
Pressure1013.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 16%
Sunrise / Sunset07:10 / 19:48
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~85 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 88/78 F, wind 10 mph, rain 16%

Fair or better. A 10 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Tampa Bay: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: Sep-Nov bull run

The copper-flanked king of the flats and surf: tailing in inches of water, schooling by the hundred in fall. Dawn topwater over grass flats and shorelines, then follow them to deeper guts and channel edges with gold spoons and paddletails. Look for wakes and nervous bait.

Speckled trout illustration

Speckled trout

Best: spring and fall

The Gulf coast's everyday obsession: soft mouths, violent topwater strikes and a fishery that lives by tide and bait. First light topwater over grass and shell, then deeper: free-lined live shrimp or croaker over 4-8 ft structure. The bite dies with the sun; night lights fish well.

When to come: the Tampa Bay calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Redfish (red drum)
Speckled trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 85 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~85 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Tampa Bay today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 87 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 88 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 88 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Florida requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Florida saltwater license. Snook: tightly-managed slot and seasons (closed in winter cold and summer spawn windows): always confirm current FWC dates.

Access

Skyway Fishing Pier State Park (the world's longest fishing pier), Fort De Soto, Gandy and Courtney Campbell shorelines, dozens of kayak launches.

About this water

Tampa Bay, Hillsborough/Pinellas/Manatee counties, FL. Florida's largest open-water estuary.

Fishing Tampa Bay: the full guide

The everything estuary

Tampa Bay packs the full Florida inshore experience into one urban bay: snook in the mangroves, redfish tailing on the flats, gator trout over deep grass, tarpon rolling under the Skyway each spring, and sheepshead wallpapering every piling in winter. Four hundred square miles means the fleet disappears into it.

Seasons of the bay

Spring: tarpon staging at the Skyway and passes, snook waking on the flats. Summer: mangrove snook at night, early trout, storms by 2 PM. Fall: redfish schools of a hundred roaming the south shore flats, big snook feeding down. Winter: negative low tides expose the flats: sight-fishing reds in potholes, trout in the channels, sheepshead everywhere.

The winter negative lows

Tampa Bay's secret season rides winter's negative low tides: morning minus-tides drain the flats, podding redfish into potholes and channels where they cannot hide. Sight-fishermen pole the exposed edges of Weedon Island and Fort De Soto picking targets; snook stack the warm-water outflows and deep canals. Summer gets the tarpon headlines: winter belongs to the hunters.

Common questions

When is tarpon season at the Skyway?

April through July, peaking May-June: staging schools roll the bridge shadow lines and passes at dawn. Live crabs on the hill tides is the signature game.

When is tarpon season in Tampa Bay?

May-July: the Skyway bridge area and Egmont channels stack migrating poons. Pass crabs on the hill tides: the bay hosts one of the Gulf's great migrations.

Is fishing good at Tampa Bay right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Nearby waters

Clearwater19 miSarasota30 miVenice47 miHomosassa71 miBoca Grande75 miClearwater Lake79 mi
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