Florida Middle Grounds

Protected hard-bottom ridges (HAPC) in Tampa Bay offshore waters

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OffshoreUpdated October 11, 2026

Depth
78-162 ft
Access
By boat
Best months
April to October
Species
Gag grouper, Red grouper, Scamp, Mangrove (gray) snapper, Greater amberjack, King mackerel (kingfish)

A field of north- to northwest-trending ridges standing 33 to 49 feet off the gently sloping West Florida Shelf, about 180 km northwest of Tampa Bay (USGS). The federal habitat area of particular concern covers its core, about 340 to 350 square nautical miles; its south tip is about 75 nautical miles from Egmont Key Light (about 298° true), and the area NOAA's chart names Florida Middle Ground is about 89 to 109 nautical miles out. NOAA's charted soundings inside it run from about 78 to 162 feet. FSU's marine lab calls it the northernmost mid-shelf octocoral community in North America. It was a red snapper ground as far back as the 1880s and is still important today, but for other species, and FSU's survey for NOAA found few economically important fish compared with the 1970s, which it put down to heavy fishing.

How to fish it

Hook and line is allowed. Fish the ledges and ridges with heavy bottom tackle for grouper, live baits in mid-water for amberjack, and troll between spots for kingfish. NOAA charts coral here and the HAPC exists to protect it, so drift rather than drop an anchor into it where you can.

Watch out for: A 150- to 220-nautical-mile round trip from Tampa Bay: plan fuel by thirds, file a float plan and carry an EPIRB. Past 60 nautical miles the forecast is the National Hurricane Center's offshore zone GMZ057; check buoy 42036 (West Tampa), about 5 nautical miles west of the protected area. The Eglin missile-test danger zone begins about 15 to 20 nautical miles to the west.
Rules here: Year-round, no bottom longline, bottom trawl, dredge, pot or trap in the protected area (50 CFR 622.74). That rule doesn't cover hook and line or ban anchoring, so normal Gulf reef fish rules apply. Steamboat Lumps, closed to all fishing year-round, lies to the southwest, and The Edges, closed part of every year, to the west; both are on the map. The rules to check in Tampa Bay offshore waters

Wind and waves

Now and the next 48 hours, at the middle of Florida Middle Grounds

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On the map

Florida Middle Grounds and the places around it

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Position

It's drawn on the map as an outline.

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.