Boca Ciega Bay flats and keys

Bay grass flats, mangrove keys and canals in Tampa Bay inshore waters

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InshoreUpdated October 11, 2026

Access
By boat or from shore
Best months
September to May
Species
Spotted seatrout, Redfish (red drum), Snook, Sheepshead, Mangrove (gray) snapper, Black drum, Flounder, Spanish mackerel

The lagoon between the St. Petersburg mainland and the beach islands, from Pass-a-Grille north past John's Pass. It's been an aquatic preserve since 1969: about 23,700 acres of seagrass, oyster bars, mangrove keys and tidal flats along a heavily built shoreline, with bayous and residential canals off the Intracoastal Waterway, and FDEP lists fishing among its main uses. Public launches include War Veterans Memorial Park, Maximo Park, Gulfport, Egan Park, Jungle Prada and the Treasure Island ramps, plus paddle launches at Clam Bayou and Boca Ciega Millennium Park.

How to fish it

Drift the grass flats with live shrimp under a float or soft plastics for trout, and work the mangrove keys and oyster edges when the water is up for redfish and snook. Fish docks and seawalls for sheepshead and mangrove snapper. In winter, fish the canals, bayous and docks slowly for snook, sheepshead and black drum.

Watch out for: Intracoastal Waterway traffic and causeway bridges, with slow-speed, minimum-wake zones from the Corey Causeway to the Treasure Island Causeway; several year-round and seasonal manatee slow-speed zones; and shallow grass flats. Some fixed bridges are low: NOAA's chart gives 4 to 5 feet of clearance under the Treasure Island Causeway's fixed spans.
Rules here: Inside the Boca Ciega Bay Aquatic Preserve, damaging seagrass breaks state law and can bring a fine of up to $1,000. Obey the posted manatee zones. The rules to check in Tampa Bay inshore waters

Wind and waves

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On the map

Boca Ciega Bay flats and keys and the places around it

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Position

  • N27° 46.275' W082° 45.218'27.771250, -82.753630

Not for navigation: check it against a current chart before you rely on it.

Places nearby

The closest named places, as the crow flies

Check the rules before you keep a fish. Size limits, bag limits and seasons change, sometimes at short notice. Our "Can you keep it today?" lists give them as of the day we last checked; these are the official pages.