Gandy Bridge

Bridge and causeway in Tampa Bay inshore waters

Draft - not published. This page is only shown while developing. It stays off the live site until its status is changed to published.

InshoreUpdated October 11, 2026

Access
By boat or from shore
Best months
February to November
Species
Snook, Tarpon, Sheepshead, Redfish (red drum), Spotted seatrout, Black drum, Mangrove (gray) snapper

The Gandy crosses the mouth of Old Tampa Bay between St. Petersburg and South Tampa, and its pilings are classic structure: sheepshead and black drum in the cool months, snook, mangrove snapper and tarpon in the warm ones. Hillsborough County's Salty Sol Fleishman ramp (6 lanes) is at the east end, and there's paddle access at the Gandy Causeway Wayside Beach on the Pinellas side. NOAA publishes current predictions for the west and east channel spans and tide predictions at the bridge.

How to fish it

For snook, fish the channel spans at night through the first two to three hours of a strong outgoing tide: anchor up-current and cast live ladyfish, pinfish or plugs to the pilings (FWC). Look for tarpon in summer. Fish the pilings with shrimp, sand fleas, fiddler crabs or crab for sheepshead and black drum in late winter and early spring, and work the causeway flats for trout and redfish.

Watch out for: Strong flow at the spans, boat traffic in the channels and night navigation. Hillsborough County slow-speed manatee zones cover the eastern shore of Old Tampa Bay between the Gandy and Howard Frankland bridges, and the Old Port Tampa and Weedon Island security zones are close by. FWC lists the Gandy Wayside Park ramp as temporarily closed and the old Gandy Bridge Marina ramp as permanently closed.
Rules here: South of the bridge on the Tampa side, MacDill Air Force Base's waters are a restricted area you may not enter, cross, anchor or drift in without permission, and a Coast Guard security zone; the Old Port Tampa channel is a security zone too. Check the posted manatee zones and FWC's Old Tampa Bay boating-zone map. The rules to check in Tampa Bay inshore waters

Wind and waves

Now and the next 48 hours, at the middle of Gandy Bridge

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On the map

Gandy Bridge and the places around it

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Position

It's drawn on the map as a line.

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.