Most of the bottom in and off Tampa Bay is flat sand and grass. Put a pile of concrete on it and algae and barnacles soon cover it, baitfish move in, and the grouper, snapper and sheepshead that eat them follow. Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties have been building reefs like that for decades, out of bridge rubble, culverts, barges and whole ships, and many of them are within reach of an ordinary bay boat.
Inside the bay
FWC's Boating and Angling Guide to Tampa Bay lists the in-bay reefs, most of them old bridge pilings, slabs and culverts:
- Ballast Point Pier Reef, about 8 feet
- Howard Frankland and Courtney Campbell reefs, about 16 feet
- Port Tampa Reef (about 21 to 24 feet) and Picnic Island Reef (about 26 feet)
- Bahia Beach Reef, 19 to 24 feet
- Port Manatee Reef, 19 to 21 feet
- Egmont Key Reef, about 18 feet, just off Egmont Key at the mouth of the bay
- St. Petersburg Bay Reef, about 34 feet, off downtown St. Pete
On the Manatee side there are smaller reef-ball sites in 10 to 15 feet, including Bulkhead Reef, Southeast Tampa and one off Emerson Point at the mouth of the Manatee River.
The bay has natural hard bottom too. Surveys of about a fifth of the bay have mapped 423 acres of it, holding red grouper, black sea bass and mangrove and lane snapper. The bay is a working port, so keep an eye out and stay clear of the main ship channel when a large vessel is coming.
Off the Pinellas beaches
Pinellas County started building reefs in 1975 and now has more than 40 sites from Tarpon Springs to St. Pete Beach, anywhere from 200 yards to 38 miles offshore, built from about 50,000 tons of material. Roughly by distance:
- Nearshore, about 25 to 33 feet, a few miles out: the Dunedin, Clearwater, Madeira, Treasure Island and St. Pete Beach reefs. St. Pete Beach Reef includes retired M60 Army tanks.
- About 40 to 50 feet, roughly 9 to 11 nautical miles out: Rube Allyn and Pinellas South reefs.
- About 80 feet, some 18 nautical miles out: Pinellas II. It holds the 180-foot tug Sheridan and the Coast Guard cutter Blackthorn, which capsized after colliding with the tanker Capricorn in Tampa Bay in January 1980, killing 23 Coast Guardsmen.
- About 100 feet: Treasure Island II, roughly 29 nautical miles out.
FWC's reef database marks each site as state or federal waters, and the reefs past 9 nautical miles, including Rube Allyn, Pinellas South and Pinellas II, are in federal waters. Federal rules can differ from the state's for the same fish, so know which side of the line you're on.
Off Anna Maria Island
Manatee County runs 13 reefs. Off Anna Maria Island, the 1-Mile, 3-Mile and 7-Mile reefs run from about 21 feet on the 1-Mile to about 40 feet on the 7-Mile. Bridge Reef, about 4 nautical miles off the north end of the island in 32 to 34 feet, was started in 2020 with a sunken barge and has had material added most years since.
Finding them
Don't copy numbers off a forum. Use the official lists:
- FWC's reef locator has an interactive map and downloadable reef lists for the whole state.
- Pinellas County's reef coordinates for its best-known wrecks and sites.
- Manatee County's reef page.
Treat every position as a starting point. FWC warns that some entries are based on historical records that haven't been checked since the material went down, and that reef material moves, breaks up and gets buried. Pinellas County says storms shift reef pieces, so its numbers may not be exact. Run to the position, then idle around and find the structure on your sounder before you drop anchor. Most reefs are scattered piles rather than one neat spot.
What lives there
- Gag grouper spend up to a year on the bay's grass flats, UF/IFAS says, and move offshore to rock and reefs as adults. FWC research in Charlotte Harbor, just to the south, found young gag leaving the estuary mostly from October to December, so the nearshore reefs see younger gag in the cool months.
- Red grouper from about 1 to 6 years old use the nearshore reefs, FWC says, and older fish live farther offshore.
- Sheepshead gather on rocks, reefs and channel markers to spawn in late winter and early spring.
- Mangrove snapper spawn in summer, June through August, and FWC says the adults are generally out on the nearshore and offshore reefs.
- Spanish mackerel and cobia cruise the reefs in season.
Pinellas County says algae and barnacles attach to new reef material within about two weeks, and the reef starts to support coral growth within about a year. FWC's guide puts it simply: small fish move onto a reef and bring bigger predators like grouper and amberjack with them.
Gear and paperwork for reef fish
These matter once you start catching grouper and snapper:
- Gear rules. FWC requires non-stainless steel circle hooks when you fish natural bait for Gulf reef fish, a dehooking tool, and a descending device or venting tool rigged and ready to use. Fish pulled up from deeper than about 50 feet often suffer barotrauma, swelling from expanding gas, and a descending device gets them back down alive. Details are on FWC's gear rules page.
- State Reef Fish Survey. If you fish from a private boat for gag, red grouper, red snapper, amberjack, gray triggerfish and other listed reef fish, you need the free State Reef Fish Angler designation, even if you're 65 or older and don't need a license.
- Seasons. Grouper and snapper seasons are set each year, some are very short, and state and federal rules can differ. Check FWC's grouper rules and NOAA Fisheries' bulletins before every trip.
Before you go
The in-bay reefs are a small-boat trip on a calm day. The Gulf reefs are a different matter once the wind picks up. Check the conditions on our Tampa Bay page, and read our guide to the marine forecast before you run outside the bay.