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Common snookRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all72
- Common snook72
- Spotted seatrout72
- Spanish mackerel69
- Red drum68
- Florida pompano67
- Black drum66
- Gray snapper60
- King mackerel58
- Sheepshead57
- Gray triggerfish51
- Red grouper51
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 8 AM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 7212 AM EST
- Best window
- 7-9 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.2 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big Cockroach Pass 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
Saturday, Nov 14 · 7 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.8 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
85Water temp: 76°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
98Season: PeakHabitat: Prime structureDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Snook
Retention open- Daily limit
- 1 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Slot 28 to 33 in, total length
- Season
- Sep 1 to Nov 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Catch & release from Dec 1
- Other
- Snook permit and saltwater fishing license required. Must stay whole until landed ashore. For-hire captain and crew may not keep a bag limit. Hook and line only. Closed December 1 through the end of February and May 1 through August 31. Open March 1 through April 30 and September 1 through November 30. Regional rules apply in inland, state and adjacent federal waters.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Snook, 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)
- Crevalle jack Retention open
- Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
- Gag grouper Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- 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 Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Common snook is best here
Shoulder season for Common snook · 3 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Big Cockroach Pass
- Depth
- Up to 3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCommon snook
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 Big Cockroach Pass
Big Cockroach Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is up to 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, spotted seatrout and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for spotted seatrout, Spanish mackerel, red drum and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, gray snapper and king mackerel. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Spotted seatrout
- Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
- 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
- Beacon Pass73
Channel · 0.4 mi
Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season- Spotted seatrout 73
- Common snook 72
- Red drum 71
5 kt EL 4:37 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:53 AM · 1.4 ft
- South Stop72
Bay · 0.4 mi
Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season- Spotted seatrout 72
- Red drum 71
- Common snook 64
5 kt EL 4:37 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:53 AM · 1.4 ft
- Cockroach Channel72
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season- Spotted seatrout 72
- Common snook 70
- Red drum 68
5 kt EL 4:37 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:53 AM · 1.4 ft
- Hole in the Wall Pass72
Channel · 0.6 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 72
- Spotted seatrout 72
- Spanish mackerel 69
5 kt EL 4:37 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:53 AM · 1.4 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.