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Cortez Tides & Fishing Conditions

Next high tide 02:23 (2.5 ft)
NOAA station 8726217 (Cortez, Sarasota Bay), 27.4667, -82.6867

Live conditions (nearest NOAA sensor)

Water temp82.8 °FPort Manatee (23 km), 2026-10-15 21:54
Air temp81.3 °FPort Manatee (23 km), 2026-10-15 21:54
WindE 8 kt (gust 12)St. Petersburg (33 km), 2026-10-15 22:00

Tide predictions (MLLW, local time)

TimeTideHeight
2026-10-15 01:47High2.57 ft
2026-10-15 10:42Low0.22 ft
2026-10-16 02:23High2.47 ft
2026-10-16 11:41Low0.29 ft
2026-10-17 03:11High2.33 ft
2026-10-17 12:49Low0.35 ft

Currents today: Cortez, north of bridge (1 km)

TimeEventSpeed
2026-10-16 01:06flood0.4 kt
2026-10-16 04:42slack0.0 kt
2026-10-16 07:46ebb0.2 kt
2026-10-16 11:58slack0.0 kt
2026-10-16 16:18flood0.5 kt
2026-10-16 21:29flood0.1 kt

NWS marine forecast: Coastal waters from Englewood to Tarpon Springs FL out 20 NM (GMZ853)

TonightNorth winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming east 10 to 15 knots late this evening and overnight. Seas around 2 feet. Wave Detail: East 2 feet at 3 seconds and north 1 foot at 3 seconds. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. Isolated showers and thunderstorms this evening.
FridayEast winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming west in the afternoon. Seas around 2 feet in the morning, then 1 foot or less. Wave Detail: East 1 foot at 3 seconds, becoming southeast 1 foot at 4 seconds. Bay and inland waters light chop. Scattered showers with isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Friday NightNorthwest winds around 5 knots, becoming north 5 to 10 knots in the late evening and overnight. Seas 1 foot or less. Wave Detail: Southeast 1 foot at 4 seconds. Bay and inland waters smooth. Isolated thunderstorms. Isolated showers in the evening, then scattered showers after midnight.
Source: National Weather Service, issued 2026-10-15 20:55 UTC.

What's biting nearby

No recent public report names this spot yet. See the regional digest.

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FL inshore size & bag limits

The official source is FWC. This is a convenience summary that may be out of date.

SpeciesSizeBag / seasonSource
Red drum (redfish) — Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor regions18–27" TL slot1/person/day; 2/vesselFWC
Spotted seatrout — Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor regions15–19" TL slot; 1 over 19" per vessel (or per shore angler)3/person/dayFWC
Snook — Tampa Bay & Sarasota Bay regions28–33" TL slot1/person/day; closed Dec 1–end Feb & May 1–Aug 31FWC
Snook — Charlotte Harbor region28–33" TL slot1/person/day; closed Dec 1–end Feb & May 1–Sep 30FWC
Sheepshead12" TL min8/person; 50/vessel in Mar–AprFWC
Flounder14" TL min5/person; CLOSED Oct 15–Nov 30FWC
Black drum14–24" TL slot, 1 over 24" allowed5/person/dayFWC
Gray (mangrove) snapper10" TL state waters (12" federal)5/person state (10 federal), within 10-snapper aggregateFWC
Spanish mackerel12" fork length min15/personFWC
Florida pompano11" fork length min6/personFWC
TarponCatch-and-release only (tag required to harvest)—FWC