Terra Ceia Bay, Miguel Bay and Bishop Harbor

Aquatic preserve: bays, mangrove creeks and hard bottom in Tampa Bay inshore waters

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InshoreUpdated October 11, 2026

Access
By boat or from shore
Best months
All year
Species
Snook, Redfish (red drum), Spotted seatrout, Sheepshead, Mangrove (gray) snapper, Tarpon, Flounder

The Manatee County side of the lower bay, from Port Manatee south to Emerson Point, all of it Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve (21,736 acres, designated 1986): Terra Ceia Bay, Miguel Bay, Bishop Harbor and tidal creeks such as Frog and McMullen creeks, with seagrass, mangroves and exposed limestone hard bottom. FDEP says old sinkholes here may give fish a warm-water refuge in winter, and FWC has documented snook spawning near the mouths of Terra Ceia and Miguel bays and around the Port Manatee spoil island. Terra Ceia Preserve State Park has a primitive ramp on Bishop Harbor at the end of Moccasin Wallow Road, open around the clock, and kayak access at Williams Bayou and Frog Creek. Manatee County keeps three paddle accesses along US 19, and Riverside Park in Palmetto (3 lanes, limited parking) serves bigger boats.

How to fish it

On summer evenings, fish near the mouths of Terra Ceia and Miguel bays for snook, and let spawning fish go quickly. Work the grass and the holes in it on moving water for redfish and trout, and in cold weather look for fish in deeper water. Bishop Harbor is a paddle-and-wade place.

Watch out for: Shallow water: FDEP says the depths and seagrass in Bishop Harbor badly limit the size and number of boats at its ramp. Rookery islands have seasonal buffer zones marked with buoys. Manatee County has slow-speed manatee zones in Bishop Harbor, Miguel Bay and Terra Ceia Bay, and idle speed in Snead Cut. To the north, Coast Guard security zones reach 500 yards around Manbirtee Key and 50 yards around the Seaport Manatee facilities.
Rules here: Aquatic preserve rules apply: seagrass damage can bring a fine, and stay outside the posted bird-nesting buffers. Manbirtee Key, the Port Manatee spoil island, is ringed by a 500-yard Coast Guard security zone (the Port Manatee Channel excepted) you may not enter without permission. Snook closed seasons apply. The rules to check in Tampa Bay inshore waters

Wind and waves

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On the map

Terra Ceia Bay, Miguel Bay and Bishop Harbor and the places around it

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Position

  • N27° 32.861' W082° 35.998'27.547680, -82.599960

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.