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Common snookCatch & releaseSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all72
- Common snook72
- Gray snapper68
- Atlantic croaker67
- Red drum67
- Atlantic tarpon65
- Permit62
- Spanish mackerel61
- Crevalle jack60
- Southern flounder58
- Black drum56
- Gag grouper53
- Gray triggerfish51
- Red snapper51
- Cobia50
- Red grouper50
- Spotted seatrout49
- Florida pompano48
- King mackerel48
- Greater amberjack47
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 2 PM · Common snook
- Now
- 724 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Back Bay scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 4 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
61Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.5 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 2 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
78Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Common snook
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: Catch & release
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Snook
Catch & release- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- May 1 to Sep 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Retention open from Oct 1
- Other
- Harvest is closed, but snook may be caught and released with a snook permit and a saltwater fishing license. Closed December 1 through the end of February and May 1 through September 30. Open March 1 through April 30 and October 1 through November 30. Regional rules apply in inland, state and adjacent federal waters.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Snook, read Sep 13
Other species here
- Atlantic croaker Retention open
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (10 per day)
- Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
- Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
- Crevalle jack Retention open
- Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
- Gag grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Common snook is best here
Peak season for Common snook · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Back Bay
- Depth
- 3-6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonCommon snook
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Back Bay
Back Bay is a bay in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 3-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, Spanish mackerel and crevalle jack. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Common snook
- Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
- Gray snapper
- Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Shell Pass75
Channel · 1.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 75
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Gray snapper 69
2 kt ENEL 5:15 PM · 0.4 ftH 9:46 AM · 1.9 ft
- Little Bokeelia Bay72
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Gray snapper 68
- Atlantic croaker 67
2 kt ENEL 5:15 PM · 0.4 ftH 9:46 AM · 1.9 ft
- Big Jim Creek72
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 72
- Atlantic croaker 68
- Common snook 68
2 kt ENEL 6:00 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:28 AM · 1.6 ft
- Jug Creek69
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 69
- Atlantic croaker 67
- Common snook 67
2 kt ENEL 5:15 PM · 0.4 ftH 9:46 AM · 1.9 ft
Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with FWC before you keep a fish.