Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerRetention open

Bay · Florida

Horseshoe Creek

30.44°N · 81.46°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Crevalle jack

78/100Great
Now
737 AM EDT
Best window
7 AM-12 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High4.8 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 · 81

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score73Great
Tide4.8 ftHigh
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind6 kn NNEgusts 10 · steady
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy40% chance of rain
Water84°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Atlantic croaker

Retention open
Daily limit
50 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
50 per person per species. No minimum size. Open year-round.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Spot and Atlantic croaker, read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
  • Bluefish Retention open (3 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 Closed (No retention)
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (10 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
  • Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
  • Red snapper Check regulations
  • Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
  • Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
  • Snook Retention open (1 per day)
  • Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open (50 per day)
  • 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 Atlantic croaker is best here

Peak season for Atlantic croaker · 5 more weeks at peak

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

Atlantic croaker in Florida →

Spot profile

Horseshoe Creek

Depth
1-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonAtlantic croaker

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 Horseshoe Creek

Horseshoe Creek is a bay in Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 1-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 28 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic tarpon and southern flounder, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, weakfish and little tunny. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

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.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.
Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Deep Creek

    Gut · 1.7 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Spot 74
    • Florida pompano 73

    6 kt NNEL 1:24 PM · 1.0 ftH 7:45 PM · 4.9 ft

  • Hannah Mills Creek

    Gut · 2.3 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Spot 74
    • Florida pompano 67

    6 kt NNEL 1:24 PM · 1.0 ftH 7:45 PM · 4.9 ft

  • Fort George River

    Gut · 2.0 mi

    78
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 78
    • Spot 73
    • Florida pompano 67

    6 kt NNEL 1:15 PM · 0.9 ftH 7:27 PM · 5.3 ft

  • Broward Creek

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 71
    • Florida pompano 65

    6 kt NNEL 12:59 PM · 0.8 ftH 7:21 PM · 5.6 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.