Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerRetention open

Bar · Florida

Cat Point Bank

27.71°N · 82.70°W · Bar · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 2 PM · Atlantic croaker

69/100Great
Now
641 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.0 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score64Good
Tide2.0 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward W
Wind4 kn NEgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp86°Hot
WeatherOvercast88% chance of rain
Water87°FObserved

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 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 Atlantic croaker is best here

Peak season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at peak

Atlantic croaker season by week of the year. Peak season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic croaker in Florida

Spot profile

Cat Point Bank

Depth
3-8 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bank · Inner · Semi-exposedBank · 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 Cat Point Bank

Cat Point Bank is a bar in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bank, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gag grouper and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for gag grouper, red grouper, gray triggerfish and red snapper. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gag grouper peak from October through December. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.

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.
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.
Gag grouper
Gag hold on ledges, rock piles and wrecks, from 15 to 40 feet in the fall on Florida's Gulf coast out to 250 feet the rest of the year. Troll deep-diving plugs to find productive rocks, then anchor and drop or freeline live pinfish or pigfish on a strong circle hook. Keep the drag tight and turn the fish in the first few seconds or it will reach the rocks.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Maximo Channel

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Common snook 73
    • Gray snapper 70

    4 kt NEL 5:46 PM · 0.6 ftH 12:10 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Main Channel

    Channel · 1.1 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Common snook 72
    • Gray snapper 69

    4 kt NEL 5:46 PM · 0.6 ftH 12:10 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Cats Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Gray snapper 65
    • Atlantic croaker 64

    4 kt NEL 6:29 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:28 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Middle Ground

    Bar · 0.8 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 67
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Gray snapper 64

    4 kt NEL 5:46 PM · 0.6 ftH 12:10 AM · 1.9 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.