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Atlantic croakerRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all70
- Atlantic croaker70
- Red drum70
- Common snook66
- Gray snapper64
- Southern flounder62
- Crevalle jack61
- Gag grouper58
- Permit58
- Atlantic tarpon57
- Gray triggerfish55
- Red grouper55
- Red snapper55
- Spanish mackerel55
- Black drum54
- Cobia52
- King mackerel50
- Greater amberjack49
- Spotted seatrout49
- Florida pompano41
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 PM · Red drum
- Now
- 701 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Avery Bayou 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
Thursday, Oct 1 · 12 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: FloodingWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
73Water temp: 85°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Common snook
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
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
Avery Bayou
- Depth
- Up to 8 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 Avery Bayou
Avery Bayou is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is up to 8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, red drum and common snook. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum, common snook and gray snapper, and shoulder season for southern flounder, crevalle jack, gag grouper and permit. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Red drum peak from September through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.
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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Sutherland Bayou76
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 76
- Permit 71
- Atlantic croaker 70
4 kt EL 4:16 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:59 PM · 2.5 ft
- Boggy Bayou71
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 71
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Permit 67
4 kt EL 4:24 PM · 0.7 ftH 11:04 PM · 2.5 ft
- Seaside Point70
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 70
- Gray snapper 69
- Red drum 67
4 kt EL 4:16 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:59 PM · 2.5 ft
- Greens Bayou70
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 70
- Common snook 66
4 kt EL 4:24 PM · 0.7 ftH 11:04 PM · 2.5 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.