Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerRetention open

Cape · Florida

Long Bar Point

27.43°N · 82.62°W · Cape · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 8 PM · Atlantic croaker

83/100Great
Now
6312 PM EDT
Best window
7-11 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score63Good
Tide1.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.3 kn · toward W
Wind4 kn ENEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 5 s
Air temp85°Hot
WeatherClear5% cloud
Water85°FObserved

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 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Atlantic croaker is best here

Peak season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at peak

Atlantic croaker season by week of the year. Peak season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic croaker in Florida

Spot profile

Long Bar Point

Depth
1-2 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Point

Long Bar Point is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, permit and common snook. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for permit, southern flounder, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. Red drum peak from September through November. Permit peak from April through June. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.

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.
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.
Permit
Permit cruise flat edges and channels in 2 to 6 feet of water in the Keys and Biscayne Bay, and school over wrecks and reefs in 30 to 120 feet, especially during the spring spawn. A live or artificial crab is the standard bait, cast ahead of a tailing fish on the flats or dropped to a school on a wreck. They spook easily in shallow water, so good light and a long, quiet cast are needed.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Millar Bay

    Bay · 2.9 mi

    75
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 75
    • Gray snapper 73
    • Red drum 71

    4 kt ENEL 5:01 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:44 PM · 1.8 ft

  • Buttonwood Harbor

    Bay · 3.2 mi

    74
    Top: Gray snapperPeak season
    • Gray snapper 74
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Common snook 73

    4 kt ENEL 4:55 PM · 0.6 ftH 12:03 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Sarasota Bay

    Bay · 2.8 mi

    72
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 72
    • Gray snapper 72
    • Atlantic croaker 71

    4 kt ENEL 4:55 PM · 0.6 ftH 12:03 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Cow Point

    Cape · 3.0 mi

    71
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 71
    • Gray snapper 68
    • Red drum 66

    4 kt ENEL 5:01 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:44 PM · 1.8 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.