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Common snookRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all73
- Common snook73
- Atlantic croaker70
- Gray snapper70
- Atlantic tarpon68
- Red drum67
- Crevalle jack62
- Permit62
- Spanish mackerel61
- Southern flounder59
- Black drum58
- Gag grouper58
- Florida pompano55
- Gray triggerfish55
- Red grouper55
- Red snapper55
- Cobia53
- King mackerel52
- Spotted seatrout52
- Greater amberjack50
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 PM · Red drum
- Now
- 739 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.8 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Blackburn Bay 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 · 9 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
66Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
89Wind: 1 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
81Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Common snook
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
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. Sarasota County waters south of the Venice Municipal Airport are in the Charlotte Harbor region, which stays closed through September 30. 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 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)
- 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Common snook is best here
Peak season for Common snook · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Blackburn Bay
- Depth
- 4-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak 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 Blackburn Bay
Blackburn Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 4-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack, permit and Spanish mackerel. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September.
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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Venice Inlet79
Bay · 2.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 79
- Atlantic tarpon 74
- Atlantic croaker 73
2 kt ESEL 3:56 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:45 PM · 1.7 ft
- Roberts Bay75
Bay · 2.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 75
- Atlantic croaker 73
- Gray snapper 72
2 kt ESEL 3:56 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:45 PM · 1.7 ft
- Lyons Bay74
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 74
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Gray snapper 70
2 kt ESEL 3:56 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:45 PM · 1.7 ft
- Eagle Point71
Cape · 3.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 71
- Atlantic croaker 68
- Gray snapper 67
2 kt ESEL 3:56 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:45 PM · 1.7 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.