Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Atlantic croakerRetention open

Channel · Florida

Blind Pass

27.75°N · 82.76°W · Channel · Tampa Bay waters

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 PM · Atlantic croaker

83/100Great
Now
3510 PM EST
Best window
10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High1.7 ft

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

Notify me when Blind Pass scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Nov 4 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score35Fair
Tide1.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.5 kn · toward N
Wind5 kn ESEgusts 9 · building
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp71°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy61% cloud
Water76°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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 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)
  • Snook Retention open (1 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Atlantic croaker is best here

Out of season for Atlantic croaker · shoulder season starts in 22 weeks

Atlantic croaker season by week of the year. Out of season for Atlantic croaker · shoulder season starts in 22 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic croaker in Florida →

Spot profile

Blind Pass

Depth
8-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Pass · Inner · ProtectedPass · flat bottom
Season
Off 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 Blind Pass

Blind Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 8-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, common snook and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout and red drum, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, gray snapper and king mackerel. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. 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.
Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
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

  • Long Bayou

    Bay · 3.2 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Spotted seatrout 67
    • Common snook 64

    7 kt ESEL 2:16 AM · 1.1 ftH 8:08 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Boca Ciega Bay

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    67
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 67
    • Common snook 59
    • Red drum 57

    7 kt ESEL 3:36 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:04 AM · 1.8 ft

  • McPherson Bayou

    Bay · 3.0 mi

    67
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 67
    • Spotted seatrout 65
    • Florida pompano 63

    7 kt ESEL 2:28 AM · 1.1 ftH 8:34 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Devils Elbow

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    62
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 62
    • Common snook 60
    • Spotted seatrout 59

    7 kt ESEL 3:36 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:04 AM · 1.8 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.