Waterlands

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Crevalle jackRetention open

Channel · Florida

Ranch Bar Gap

29.26°N · 83.18°W · Channel · Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Crevalle jack

77/100Great
Now
4812 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
High3.4 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: Sat · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score48Good
Tide3.4 ftHigh
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward W
Wind7 kn NEgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.8 ft · 3 s
Air temp87°Hot
WeatherMostly cloudy65% cloud
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Crevalle jack

Retention open
Daily limit
Not published
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Two fish or 100 pounds per person per day, whichever is more. Crevalle jack is an unregulated species with this default limit. Hook and line, spears, gigs, haul seines and cast nets.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: "Unregulated" Species, 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)
  • 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)
  • Snook Retention open (1 per day)
  • Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (5 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 today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Crevalle jack is best here

Shoulder season for Crevalle jack · 5 more weeks at shoulder

Crevalle jack season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Crevalle jack · 5 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Crevalle jack in Florida →

Spot profile

Ranch Bar Gap

Depth
6-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Outer · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonCrevalle jack

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 Ranch Bar Gap

Ranch Bar Gap is a channel in Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 6-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, Florida pompano and gray snapper. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, black drum and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Gray snapper peak from June through September.

Tackle & technique

Crevalle jack
Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
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.
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 →
  • White Shell Bar Gap

    Channel · 2.3 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Florida pompano 63
    • Gray snapper 57

    7 kt NEL 7:22 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:27 AM · 3.0 ft

  • Halfmoon Reef

    Bar · 2.7 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Florida pompano 63
    • Gray snapper 59

    7 kt NEL 7:22 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:27 AM · 3.0 ft

  • Suwannee Reef

    Bar · 1.1 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Florida pompano 63
    • Gray snapper 58

    7 kt NEL 7:22 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:27 AM · 3.0 ft

  • Suwannee Sound

    Bay · 3.4 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Florida pompano 63
    • Red drum 56

    7 kt NEL 7:22 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:27 AM · 3.0 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.