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Atlantic croakerRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all72
- Atlantic croaker72
- Common snook72
- Gray snapper69
- Red drum67
- Atlantic tarpon65
- Permit64
- Crevalle jack63
- Spanish mackerel63
- Black drum61
- Southern flounder61
- Gag grouper56
- Cobia55
- Gray triggerfish54
- Red grouper54
- King mackerel53
- Red snapper53
- Florida pompano51
- Greater amberjack49
- Spotted seatrout49
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 10 PM · Common snook
- Now
- 721 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.0 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hunter Pass 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
Tuesday, Sep 29 · 7 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
85Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.8 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
84Wind: 1 kt SPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
83Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Common snook
Species seasonality
98Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Atlantic croaker is best here
Peak season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Hunter Pass
- Depth
- Up to 4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Hunter Pass
Hunter Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is up to 4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and gray snapper. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, crevalle jack and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June 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.
- 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
- Little Cockroach Rock Pass72
Channel · 3.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Common snook 72
- Red drum 70
2 kt EL 6:43 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:52 AM · 1.7 ft
- Double Bayou Pass71
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 71
- Common snook 71
- Red drum 69
2 kt EL 6:14 PM · 0.5 ftH 1:28 AM · 2.1 ft
- Mangrove Point64
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 64
- Common snook 64
- Gray snapper 63
2 kt EL 6:14 PM · 0.5 ftH 1:28 AM · 2.1 ft
- Sand Point64
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 64
- Common snook 64
- Gray snapper 63
2 kt EL 6:43 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:52 AM · 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.