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Red grouperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum61
- Common snook57
- Atlantic croaker56
- Atlantic tarpon55
- Southern flounder54
- Gray snapper51
- Permit50
- Black drum49
- Spotted seatrout46
- Crevalle jack43
- Gag grouper43
- Red snapper42
- Spanish mackerel41
- Gray triggerfish39
- Red grouper39
- Cobia36
- King mackerel35
- Florida pompano34
- Greater amberjack34
- Sheepshead29
Best score today · 8 PM · Red grouper
- Now
- 394 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cross 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
Saturday, Sep 26 · 9 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
81Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.5 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 5 kt NPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
53Water temp: 86°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.3 ftSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
43Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Red grouper
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 20 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Charter captain and crew bag limit is zero in state waters. No more than 4 grouper combined per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Open year-round in Gulf state waters. Federal waters close February 1 through March 31 seaward of 20 fathoms.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Groupers, 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 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Red grouper is best here
Shoulder season for Red grouper · 27 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cross Bayou
- Depth
- Up to 1 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonRed grouper
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 Cross Bayou
Cross Bayou is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is up to 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, common snook and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, permit and black drum. Red drum peak from September through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Red grouper
- Red grouper live on low limestone ledges and potholed live bottom across the West Florida Shelf, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Drift to find hard bottom, then anchor and fish live pinfish, grunts or squid on the bottom with stout conventional tackle. Reel hard right after the bite, because they dive into holes, and use a descending device on fish released from deep water.
- 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
- Devils Elbow64
Channel · 4.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Atlantic croaker 62
- Red drum 60
4 kt ESEL 5:41 AM · 1.4 ftH 11:11 AM · 2.3 ft
- Boca Ciega Bay63
Bay · 3.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 63
- Atlantic croaker 59
- Red drum 59
4 kt ESEL 5:41 AM · 1.4 ftH 11:11 AM · 2.3 ft
- Long Bayou55
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 55
- Atlantic croaker 54
- Common snook 52
4 kt ESEH 10:15 AM · 2.4 ftL 5:30 PM · 0.6 ft
- Turtlecrawl Point52
Cape · 1.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 52
- Atlantic croaker 49
- Gray snapper 49
4 kt ESEH 10:15 AM · 2.4 ftL 5:30 PM · 0.6 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.