Waterlands

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Crevalle jackRetention open

Channel · Florida

Alafia River Channel

27.83°N · 82.42°W · Channel · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 10 AM · Crevalle jack

77/100Great
Now
527 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score52Good
Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind3 kn Egusts 9 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 5 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherClear88% chance of rain
Water88°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 (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

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

Alafia River Channel

Depth
8-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · 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 Alafia River Channel

Alafia River Channel is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 8-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, 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, permit, black drum and southern flounder. 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

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • South Channel

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 67
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Atlantic tarpon 64

    3 kt EL 7:57 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:50 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Big Bend Channel

    Channel · 1.9 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 67
    • Atlantic tarpon 64
    • Atlantic croaker 63

    3 kt EL 7:36 PM · 0.6 ftH 2:45 AM · 2.1 ft

  • The Kitchen

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    65
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 65
    • Common snook 62
    • Atlantic tarpon 62

    3 kt EL 7:57 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:50 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Hillsborough Channel

    Channel · 2.1 mi

    61
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 61
    • Atlantic croaker 59
    • Atlantic tarpon 58

    3 kt EL 7:14 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:18 AM · 2.4 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.