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Common snookRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all72
- Common snook72
- Atlantic croaker70
- Gray snapper69
- Atlantic tarpon67
- Red drum67
- Crevalle jack62
- Spanish mackerel62
- Permit61
- Gag grouper60
- Southern flounder60
- Black drum59
- Gray triggerfish56
- Red grouper56
- Red snapper56
- Cobia53
- King mackerel53
- Spotted seatrout52
- Greater amberjack51
- Florida pompano46
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 10 PM · Common snook
- Now
- 725 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Lemon Bay 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
Monday, Oct 5 · 9 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: FloodingWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 4 kt NNEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
77Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Common snook
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Snook
Catch & release- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- May 1 to Sep 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Retention open from Oct 1
- Other
- Harvest is closed, but snook may be caught and released with a snook permit and a saltwater fishing license. Closed December 1 through the end of February and May 1 through September 30. Open March 1 through April 30 and October 1 through November 30. Regional rules apply in inland, state and adjacent federal waters.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Snook, 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 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)
- 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 Common snook is best here
Peak season for Common snook · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Lemon Bay
- Depth
- 2-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonCommon snook
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 Lemon Bay
Lemon Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack, Spanish mackerel and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Deer Creek74
Bend · 2.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Common snook 73
- Gray snapper 70
3 kt NEL 6:47 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:35 AM · 1.3 ft
- Redfish Cove72
Bay · 2.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Gray snapper 69
3 kt NEL 6:47 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:35 AM · 1.3 ft
- Point of Pines69
Cape · 2.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 69
- Gray snapper 67
- Atlantic croaker 65
3 kt NEL 6:47 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:35 AM · 1.3 ft
- Cedar Point69
Cape · 3.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 69
- Gray snapper 67
- Atlantic croaker 65
3 kt NEL 6:47 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:35 AM · 1.3 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.