Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerRetention open

Bay · Florida

Canaveral Bight

28.43°N · 80.56°W · Bay · Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

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Best score today · 8 AM · Atlantic croaker

78/100Great
Now
7410 PM EDT
Best window
10-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.6 ft ▼

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Wed · 79

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 PM · now

Time10PNOW
Score74Great
Tide1.6 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NNE
Wind2 kn Wgusts 2 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.6 ft · 6 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water83°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Atlantic croaker

Retention open
Daily limit
50 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
50 per person per species. 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 (3 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 (10 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Catch & release (No retention)
  • Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
  • Red snapper Check regulations
  • 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 (50 per day)
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (2 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Atlantic croaker is best here

Peak season for Atlantic croaker · 5 more weeks at peak

Atlantic croaker season by week of the year. Peak season for Atlantic croaker · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic croaker in Florida →

Spot profile

Canaveral Bight

Depth
20-25 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · slope
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 Canaveral Bight

Canaveral Bight is a bay in Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 20-25 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and common snook. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, common snook and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for black drum, red snapper, weakfish and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. 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.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Duck Pond

    Bay · 2.9 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 75
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Red drum 74

    2 kt WL 11:39 PM · 1.2 ftH 5:38 AM · 3.9 ft

  • Home Point

    Cape · 3.1 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 75
    • Red drum 74
    • Southern flounder 72

    2 kt WL 11:39 PM · 1.2 ftH 5:38 AM · 3.9 ft

  • Middle Point

    Cape · 3.3 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 75
    • Red drum 74
    • Southern flounder 72

    2 kt WL 11:39 PM · 1.2 ftH 5:38 AM · 3.9 ft

  • Cactus Point

    Cape · 3.5 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 75
    • Red drum 74
    • Southern flounder 72

    2 kt WL 11:39 PM · 1.2 ftH 5:38 AM · 3.9 ft

Open in the tide map

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.