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17,014-acre West Bay section of the St. Andrew Bay system with quality-assured NOAA survey contours, exact-section FWC fish records, mapped seagrass and official West Bay access. The water tops out around 28 ft. The depth chart is built from real agency bathymetry referenced to NAVD88; directly measured coverage remains distinguished from source interpolation. The channels, holes and drop-offs come from the source data, not a distance-from-shore model. Species by species, here's what the data says the year looks like.
Traced from the shoreline, West Bay runs 17,041 acres with 36.9 miles of edge — 7 islands included. Index 2 on the shoreline: a few honest points and pockets, nothing labyrinthine. 95% of the surface is littoral (under ~15 ft) — cover, weeds and forage water. End to end it runs roughly 8.3 mi, about 5.8 mi across. The nearest mapped water is North Bay, 8 mi to the east.
Spring spotted seatrout on West Bay hold shallow, usually 2 to 10 ft. By summer they slide out to 4 to 15 ft, and by winter most fish are in 5 to 20 ft. The chart's best answer is 2015 continuous seagrass edge — seagrass edge, 2 ft, prime for spring. Prime time lands in early morning. The summer box starts with a popping cork + shrimp or a 1/4 oz jighead + paddletail (deep grass edge).
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | 2015 continuous seagrass edge (2 ft) | Topwater walker, Suspending twitchbait |
| Summer | 4 to 15 ft | dawn | 2017 patchy (discontinuous) seagrass edge (6 ft) | Popping cork + shrimp, 1/4 oz jighead + paddletail (deep grass edge) |
| Fall | 3 to 12 ft | dawn | 2017 patchy (discontinuous) seagrass edge (6 ft) | Popping cork rig, Soft plastic jerkbait |
| Winter | 5 to 20 ft | midday & dusk | Shallow feeding flat (14 ft) | Suspending twitchbait (long pauses), Scented plastic crawled on bottom |
The spring pattern is a shallow one: red drum (redfish) in 1 to 8 ft. As the season builds they drop to 2 to 12 ft, wintering in 3 to 15 ft. Top water on the chart: 2017 oyster edge, an oyster reef in the 4 ft range, prime in spring. Time it for early morning and the evening. Summer baits: a weedless gold spoon or a paddletail swimbait gets it done.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 1 to 8 ft | dawn & dusk | 2017 oyster edge (4 ft) | Gold weedless spoon, Paddletail on 1/4 oz jighead |
| Summer | 2 to 12 ft | dawn & dusk | 2017 oyster edge (4 ft) | Weedless gold spoon, Paddletail swimbait |
| Fall | 3 to 20 ft | dawn & midday | 2017 oyster edge (4 ft) | 1/2 oz spoon (schools), Big paddletail |
| Winter | 3 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow feeding flat (14 ft) | Scented soft plastic on 1/8 oz head, Slow-rolled paddletail |
Spring gray snapper (mangrove snapper) on West Bay hold shallow, usually 3 to 22 ft. By summer they slide out to 4 to 28 ft, and by winter most fish are in 5 to 28 ft. The chart's best answer is Dangerous NOAA charted wreck — wreck, 3 ft, prime for fall. Prime time lands in early morning and the evening. The summer box starts with a small bucktail or a paddletail.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 22 ft | dawn & dusk | 2017 oyster edge (4 ft) | Small paddletail, Jighead + shrimp imitation |
| Summer | 4 to 28 ft | dawn & dusk | Dangerous NOAA charted wreck (3 ft) | Small bucktail, Paddletail |
| Fall | 4 to 28 ft | dawn & dusk | Dangerous NOAA charted wreck (3 ft) | Small vertical jig, Jighead + paddletail |
| Winter | 5 to 28 ft | midday | Dangerous NOAA charted wreck (3 ft) | Small jig worked slowly |
Start shallow in spring: sheepshead sit in 5 to 25 ft that time of year. They don't go far with the seasons — 3 to 15 ft covers summer, 8 to 28 ft covers winter. The spot to know is 2017 oyster edge, an oyster reef in about 5 ft of water that rates prime for sheepshead in spring. Warm-month bites cluster around early morning. Throw a small jig + crab piece until the fish tell you otherwise.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 5 to 25 ft | midday & dawn | 2017 oyster edge (5 ft) | 1/4 oz jighead + fiddler, Sheepshead jig + shrimp piece |
| Summer | 3 to 15 ft | dawn | 2017 oyster edge (4 ft) | Small jig + crab piece |
| Fall | 5 to 20 ft | midday | 2017 oyster edge (5 ft) | Jighead + shrimp, Small crab jig |
| Winter | 8 to 28 ft | midday | 2024 oyster edge (8 ft) | Heavier jig + crab (deep pilings) |
Count 63 structure marks on this chart. The deepest, Shallow feeding flat, sits near 14 ft.
Access data: Florida FWC — Boat Ramp Inventory. Confirm conditions and fees locally before you launch.
Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for Florida waters are set by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (saltwater) — and special regulations can apply to West Bay specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.
Check the official Florida fishing regulations →
West Bay is about 28 ft (9 m) deep at its deepest point. The depth chart is built from real agency bathymetry referenced to NAVD88; directly measured coverage remains distinguished from source interpolation. The contours reflect measured and quality-assessed source depths.
Anglers target spotted seatrout, red drum (redfish), gray snapper (mangrove snapper), sheepshead on West Bay.
2015 continuous seagrass edge is the top-rated area: a seagrass edge in about 2 ft of water that rates prime for spotted seatrout in spring. Open the map above to see every rated spot for each species and season.
For spotted seatrout, the summer bite is best in early morning. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Fishing on West Bay is regulated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (saltwater). Check the official Florida regulations for current license requirements, season dates, and size and bag limits — special regulations can apply to this specific water.
North Bay 8 mi · Main St. Andrew Bay 9 mi · Deer Point Lake 13 mi · Lake Martin 13 mi · East Bay 20 mi · Choctawhatchee Bay 36 mi · Lower Choctawhatchee Bay 46 mi · Merritts Mill Pond 51 mi · Lake Jackson 60 mi, FL/AL · Geneva County Public Fishing Lake 64 mi, AL · Lake Seminole 66 mi, GA/FL · Santa Rosa Sound 66 mi
See how West Bay stacks up: best red drum (redfish) lakes in Florida · best spotted seatrout lakes in Florida · best sheepshead lakes in Florida · best gray snapper (mangrove snapper) lakes in Florida
Browse all Florida fishing maps or see every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry credit: NOAA BlueTopo (NAVD88; 88% measured, 12% source-interpolated). How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.