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Atlantic croakerRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all67
- Atlantic croaker67
- Common snook58
- Florida pompano58
- Red drum55
- Gray snapper54
- Atlantic tarpon49
- Black drum49
- Spanish mackerel47
- Southern flounder44
- Red snapper43
- Gag grouper42
- Permit42
- Crevalle jack40
- Gray triggerfish40
- Red grouper40
- Spotted seatrout39
- King mackerel36
- Greater amberjack34
- Cobia33
- Sheepshead29
Best score today · 8 AM · Common snook
- Now
- 671 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- High2.3 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Long Bar 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
Friday, Oct 2 · 3 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
73Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 8 kt SSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
63Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Common snook
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: 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 yesterday
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
Long Bar
- Depth
- 3-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · 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 Long Bar
Long Bar is a bar in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, black drum and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October 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.
- 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.
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Hillsborough Channel76
Channel · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 76
- Common snook 63
- Red drum 61
4 kt EL 5:09 AM · 1.5 ftH 10:39 AM · 2.7 ft
- Hillsborough Bay72
Bay · 1.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Common snook 68
- Red drum 66
4 kt EH 2:08 AM · 2.1 ftL 4:31 AM · 2.1 ft
- Catfish Point67
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 67
- Red drum 64
- Common snook 58
4 kt EL 5:09 AM · 1.5 ftH 10:39 AM · 2.7 ft
- Long Shoal67
Bar · 1.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 67
- Common snook 58
- Florida pompano 58
4 kt EL 5:09 AM · 1.5 ftH 10:39 AM · 2.7 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.