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Atlantic croakerRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Red drum
- Now
- 727 AM CDT
- Best window
- 5-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bell Shoal 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 · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
81Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 1.6 ftSeason & habitat · Atlantic croaker
Species seasonality
73Season: 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
Bell Shoal
- Depth
- About 20 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · 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 Bell Shoal
Bell Shoal is a bar in St. Andrews Bay Waterways, Florida. Depth is about 20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon, black drum and crevalle jack. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May 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.
- 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.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Saint Joseph Point78
Cape · 4.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 78
- Red drum 74
- Atlantic tarpon 72
6 kt ENEL 2:03 PM · 0.5 ftH 1:18 AM · 1.9 ft
- Nesser Flat78
Bay · 7.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 78
- Gray snapper 75
- Red drum 73
6 kt ENEL 3:28 PM · 0.5 ftH 5:21 AM · 2.0 ft
- Wild Goose Lagoon77
Bay · 5.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 77
- Red drum 76
- Permit 70
6 kt ENEL 5:28 PM · 0.5 ftH 5:21 AM · 2.0 ft
- Saint Andrew Point72
Cape · 3.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Gray snapper 70
- Red drum 68
6 kt ENEL 5:28 PM · 0.5 ftH 5:21 AM · 2.0 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.