Curry Creek and Hatchett Creek

Creek in Sarasota inshore waters

Draft - not published. This page is only shown while developing. It stays off the live site until its status is changed to published.

InshoreUpdated October 11, 2026

Depth
0.3-11 ft
Access
By boat or from shore
Best months
November to March
Species
Snook, Tarpon, Redfish (red drum), Jack crevalle, Black drum, Mangrove (gray) snapper

Tidal creeks entering Venice's Roberts Bay at the south end of the Sarasota system. FWC names Curry Creek and the Cow Pen Slough Canal in its Sarasota Bay snook region, and its Tampa Bay angling guide says snook use tidal creeks and other deep, warm water in the cool months. FWC also says juvenile tarpon are common in low-salinity water like this. All of Curry Creek, from Roberts Bay to the Myakka River, is a year-round slow-speed zone, and so is Hatchett Creek west of the US 41 bypass.

How to fish it

Fish slow lures along the deeper bends, docks and shaded banks on warm winter afternoons. A kayak from Curry Creek Preserve, Nokomis Community Park or Legacy Park reaches water a bay boat can't; Venice Marina Park and the Loreto ramp are the nearby boat ramps.

Watch out for: Shallow water, slow-speed zones, residential docks, and low fixed bridges (NOAA charts about 7 feet at the Curry Creek mouth). Leave cold-stunned snook alone in a freeze, and watch for manatees.
Rules here: FWC's Sarasota Bay snook rules apply (Curry Creek is named). The Myakka River farther southeast is in the Charlotte Harbor region. The rules to check in Sarasota inshore waters

Wind and waves

Now and the next 48 hours, at one of the marked positions of Curry Creek and Hatchett Creek (N27° 06.787' W082° 26.789')

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On the map

Curry Creek and Hatchett Creek and the places around it

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Positions

  • N27° 06.787' W082° 26.789'27.113110, -82.446485
  • N27° 05.337' W082° 25.939'27.088945, -82.432318

Not for navigation: check it against a current chart before you rely on it.

Places nearby

The closest named places, as the crow flies

Check the rules before you keep a fish. Size limits, bag limits and seasons change, sometimes at short notice. Our "Can you keep it today?" lists give them as of the day we last checked; these are the official pages.