Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerRetention open

Channel · Florida

Gooseneck Pass

27.70°N · 82.51°W · Channel · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 7 PM · Atlantic croaker

84/100Great
Now
351 PM EST
Best window
5-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.3 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Nov 13 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score35Fair
Tide0.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.0 kn · toward SW
Wind7 kn Egusts 14 · building
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast97% cloud
Water76°FPersisted

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)

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

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

Gooseneck Pass

Depth
Up to 3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Gooseneck Pass

Gooseneck 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 Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout and red drum. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout, red drum and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, black drum and gray snapper. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September 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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Big Pass

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    79
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 79
    • Red drum 78
    • Spanish mackerel 78

    12 kt ESEL 3:21 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:15 PM · 1.2 ft

  • 79
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 79
    • Red drum 78
    • Spanish mackerel 69

    12 kt ESEL 3:21 PM · 0.2 ftH 10:52 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Coon Creek

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    78
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 78
    • Red drum 77
    • Common snook 70

    12 kt ESEL 3:21 PM · 0.2 ftH 10:52 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Marys Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    71
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 71
    • Red drum 70
    • Spanish mackerel 69

    12 kt ESEL 3:21 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:15 PM · 1.2 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.