Bunces Pass

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Bunces Pass separates Hook Island (part of Shell Key Preserve) from Mullet Key and North Beach of Ft. DeSoto County Park.

The pass's entrance is very shallow, less than 4 ft. The channel is unmarked at the entrance, because it migrates north and south with the summer/winter longshore currents. The knee-deep north and south shoals which stretch along either side of the entrance also move. However, once inside there is a wide marked channel with ample water, over 20 ft deep, as a strong natural current cuts through from lower Boca Ciega Bay and Tampa Bay.

Skilled small boaters can enter by lining-up the north tower of the skyway with the southern tree-line, then reading the whitecapped shoals and deeper emerald waters. Entrance at night is the ultimate piloting challenge.