Waterlands

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Common snookCatch & release

Channel · Florida

Big Carlos Pass

26.40°N · 81.88°W · Channel · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

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Best score today · 10 PM · Common snook

82/100Great
Now
778 AM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.3 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Tue · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score77Great
Tide2.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.4 kn · toward WSW
Wind1 kn SEgusts 3 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy67% cloud
Water84°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Common snook is best here

Peak season for Common snook · 5 more weeks at peak

Common snook season by week of the year. Peak season for Common snook · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Common snook in Florida →

Spot profile

Big Carlos Pass

Depth
5-15 ftSlope
Structure
Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · slope
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 Big Carlos Pass

Big Carlos Pass is a channel in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 5-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, crevalle jack and Florida pompano. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.

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.
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.
Atlantic tarpon
Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • New Pass

    Channel · 2.2 mi

    76
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 76
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Red drum 67

    1 kt NWH 9:28 AM · 2.5 ftL 4:56 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Ostego Bay

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    73
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 73
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Red drum 66

    1 kt SEH 9:35 AM · 2.4 ftL 4:51 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Estero Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    72
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 72
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Red drum 65

    1 kt NWH 9:35 AM · 2.4 ftL 4:51 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Starvation Flats

    Flat · 1.9 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Common snook 69
    • Atlantic croaker 65

    1 kt SEH 9:32 AM · 2.5 ftL 6:16 PM · 0.5 ft

Open in the tide map

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.