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Fishing maps/Tampa Bay

Florida coastal fishing maps

Tampa Bay fishing maps and surveyed sections

Nine Tampa Bay sections are ready with real NOAA depth contours, FWC fish-survey rosters, confidence-tagged fishing spots, seasonal forage guidance and verified public access.

9 live sections11 surveyed target species94 attached public access sites

Built for bay scale

Why Tampa Bay is split into sections

One bay-wide page would mix distinct passes, channels, grass-flat systems, access networks and fish-sampling zones. These pages use official SWFWMD segment boundaries plus Bunces Pass and Pass A Grille Channel exact NOAA named-water boundaries, then publish a child only when its shoreline and NOAA bathymetry pass the coastal quality gates.

Quality-assured and searchable

Choose a Tampa Bay fishing-map section

NOAA survey contours99% assessed · 55% measured

Old Tampa Bay

51,686-acre northwestern Tampa Bay section with NOAA assessed survey contours, 2024 seagrass and oyster habitat, charted wrecks and artificial reefs.

Recorded max
45 ft
Species
Red Drum (Redfish), Spotted Seatrout, Sheepshead, Snook
Public access
15 attached sites
Open depth map and fishing spots →
NOAA survey contours99% assessed · 43% measured

Hillsborough Bay

24,331-acre eastern Tampa Bay section with NOAA assessed survey contours, port and channel structure, charted wrecks, seagrass and oyster habitat.

Recorded max
55 ft
Species
Red Drum (Redfish), Spotted Seatrout, Sheepshead, Snook
Public access
7 attached sites
Open depth map and fishing spots →
NOAA survey contours99% assessed · 69% measured

Middle Tampa Bay

70,132-acre middle-bay section with NOAA survey contours, charted reefs and wrecks, and mapped 2024 seagrass and oyster habitat.

Recorded max
60 ft
Species
Red Drum (Redfish), Spotted Seatrout, Sheepshead, Snook
Public access
15 attached sites
Open depth map and fishing spots →
NOAA survey contours100% assessed · 77% measured

Lower Tampa Bay

58,980-acre outer Tampa Bay section with NOAA survey contours across passes, channels, reefs, wrecks and seagrass edges.

Recorded max
80 ft
Species
Red Drum (Redfish), Spotted Seatrout, Sheepshead, Snook
Public access
10 attached sites
Open depth map and fishing spots →
NOAA survey contours98% assessed · 91% measured

Boca Ciega Bay

22,339-acre Pinellas County bay with NOAA survey contours, protected grass flats, oyster habitat, charted wrecks and artificial reefs.

Recorded max
51 ft
Species
Red Drum (Redfish), Spotted Seatrout, Sheepshead, Snook
Public access
29 attached sites
Open depth map and fishing spots →
NOAA survey contours99% assessed · 93% measured

Terra Ceia Bay

3,946-acre shallow Manatee County bay with NOAA survey contours, 2024 seagrass and oyster edges, and charted wreck structure.

Recorded max
18 ft
Species
Red Drum (Redfish), Spotted Seatrout, Sheepshead, Snook
Public access
5 attached sites
Open depth map and fishing spots →
NOAA survey contours96% assessed · 67% measured

Manatee River Estuary

6,241-acre lower Manatee River estuary with NOAA assessed survey contours, mapped seagrass and oyster habitat, charted wrecks and reef structure.

Recorded max
33 ft
Species
Red Drum (Redfish), Spotted Seatrout, Sheepshead, Snook
Public access
7 attached sites
Open depth map and fishing spots →
NOAA survey contours100% assessed · 99% measured

Bunces Pass

629-acre Bunces Pass fishing map with NOAA BlueTopo survey contours (99.46% measured, 100% assessed), source-traceable coastal structure, exact-polygon FWC fish occurrence, sourced forage timing and verified public access.

Recorded max
30 ft
Species
Red Drum (Redfish), Spotted Seatrout, Sheepshead, Snook
Public access
3 attached sites
Open depth map and fishing spots →
NOAA survey contours100% assessed · 100% measured

Pass A Grille Channel

280-acre Pass A Grille Channel fishing map with NOAA BlueTopo survey contours (99.93% measured, 100% assessed), source-traceable coastal structure, exact-polygon FWC fish occurrence, sourced forage timing and verified public access.

Recorded max
46 ft
Species
Black Sea Bass, Sheepshead, Snook, Gulf Flounder
Public access
3 attached sites
Open depth map and fishing spots →

Source-backed, not crowd-guessed

What is included on every live page

  • Depth: NOAA BlueTopo and related NOAA hydrographic/topobathymetric survey surfaces, with measured and assessed-interpolated coverage kept distinct and unassessed NBS generalization excluded.
  • Fish: recreational target species supported by Florida FWC's 2023 report or exact-polygon 1996-2023 FIM records, with counts treated as occurrence rather than catch rates.
  • Spots: species-and-season analysis anchored to NOAA reefs and wrecks and SWFWMD's mapped 2024 seagrass and oyster habitat; only locations with directly measured bathymetry can become recommendations.
  • Seasonality: source-backed pilchard/thread-herring, pink-shrimp and mullet movement windows, presented as typical ranges rather than daily predictions.
  • Access: current Florida FWC Boat Ramp Inventory records matched to each section's public outline.

NOAA BlueTopo·FWC 2023 FIM report·SWFWMD 2024 habitat

Not published prematurely

Sections still on survey-quality hold

These named sections remain in the data pipeline, but they are not in search, the public lake manifest or the sitemap until the stated depth-quality issue is resolved.

  • Big Pass: The exact NOAA named-water footprint reaches only 7.2 ft of retained useful depth, below the fixed 25 ft release gate; no useful-depth waiver is applied.
  • Mullet Key Bayou: The exact NOAA named-water footprint reaches only 19.5 ft of surveyed depth, below the fixed five-contour useful-depth gate; no useful-depth waiver is applied.
  • Little Cockroach Bay: BlueTopo reaches 91.23% measured and 92.17% assessed coverage with 7.83% unsupported water, and the exact footprint is only 10 ft deep; no coverage or useful-depth waiver is applied.
  • Miguel Bay: The exact NOAA named-water footprint reaches only 8.3 ft of surveyed depth, below the fixed five-contour useful-depth gate; no useful-depth waiver is applied.

Tampa Bay map questions

Frequently asked questions

Why is Tampa Bay divided into separate fishing-map pages?

Tampa Bay is too large and environmentally varied for one useful fishing page. DepthScout follows official SWFWMD segments plus exact NOAA named-water footprints for Bunces Pass and Pass A Grille Channel so each page can keep its own survey coverage, fish-survey zone, access points, habitat and fishing spots.

Which Tampa Bay sections are available now?

Old Tampa Bay, Hillsborough Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, Lower Tampa Bay, Bunces Pass, Pass A Grille Channel, Boca Ciega Bay, Terra Ceia Bay and the Manatee River Estuary pass the current boundary, shoreline, survey-depth and evidence release gates.

What data supports the Tampa Bay fishing spots?

Depth comes from NOAA BlueTopo and related NOAA survey surfaces. Unassessed NBS generalization is excluded, and fishing recommendations require directly measured bathymetry. Species occurrence comes from Florida FWC's 2023 report and exact 1996-2023 FIM records in Bunces Pass and Pass A Grille Channel; spot structure uses source-traceable NOAA chart features plus SWFWMD 2024 seagrass and oyster habitat.