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Atlantic croakerRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Red drum
- Now
- 6511 AM CDT
- Best window
- 4-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.9 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Motes Point 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 · 11 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
59Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Atlantic croaker
Species seasonality
70Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Atlantic croaker
Retention open- Daily limit
- Not published
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- 100 pounds per person per day. 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 (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)
- 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 (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 Atlantic croaker is best here
Peak season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Motes Point
- Depth
- 1-3 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Motes Point
Motes Point is a cape in Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, red drum and permit. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for permit, Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder and black drum. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Red drum peak from September through November. Permit peak from April through June.
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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- Permit
- Permit cruise flat edges and channels in 2 to 6 feet of water in the Keys and Biscayne Bay, and school over wrecks and reefs in 30 to 120 feet, especially during the spring spawn. A live or artificial crab is the standard bait, cast ahead of a tailing fish on the flats or dropped to a school on a wreck. They spook easily in shallow water, so good light and a long, quiet cast are needed.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Alaqua Bayou70
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 62
- Southern flounder 56
4 kt EL 11:17 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:25 AM · 0.9 ft
- LaGrange Bayou70
Bay · 2.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 61
- Southern flounder 56
4 kt EL 11:17 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:25 AM · 0.9 ft
- Mallet Bayou70
Bay · 2.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 63
- Permit 59
4 kt EL 11:17 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:25 AM · 0.9 ft
- Wheeler Point65
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 65
- Gray snapper 55
- Red drum 55
4 kt EL 11:17 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:25 AM · 0.9 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.