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Best score today · 11 AM · Red grouper

77/100Great

Now: 545 PM EDT
Best window: 5-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now: Ebbing0.5 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: Sat · 78

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time5PNOW

Score54Good

Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing

CurrentSlack0.1 kn

Wind5 kn WNWgusts 9 · steady

Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 4 s

Air temp82°Warm

WeatherOvercast80% chance of rain

Water87°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

2P

3P

4P

NOW

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

12A

1A

2A

3A

4A

5A

6A

7A

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

1P

43

47

49

54

57

56

49

40

39

53

52

38

41

47

51

56

55

50

42

46

58

55

0.3

0.2

○0.0

○0.1

0.1

0.2

0.1

○0.0

○0.1

0.1

0.2

○0.1

○0.0

0.1

0.2

○0.1

○0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

107

106

96

95

106

127

128

116

83

63

64

75

85

95

106

107

105

104

103

93

83

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

80%

79%

77%

75%

74%

69%

54%

35%

38%

51%

59%

57%

49%

41%

35%

30%

87°

86°

87°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)

IN EFFECT NOW

Red grouper

Retention open

Daily limit: 3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined)
Possession: Not published
Size: Minimum 20 in, total length
Season: No closed season on file
Annual quota: Not published
Changes: Closed from Jan 1
Other: Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. No more than 3 grouper and tilefish combined per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Open May 1 through December 31. Closed January 1 through April 30.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Groupers, read Sep 13

Other species here

Atlantic croaker Retention open
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 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 (3 per day)
Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
Permit Retention open (1 per day)
Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
Red snapper Check regulations
Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
Snook Catch & release (No retention)
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)

Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Red grouper is best here

Shoulder season for Red grouper · 27 more weeks at shoulder

Peak
Shoulder
Off
This week

Red grouper in Florida →

Spot profile

Harris Channel

Depth: 2-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure: Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
Season: Shoulder seasonRed grouper

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 Harris Channel

Harris Channel is a channel in Bayside and Gulfside from Craig Key to West End of Seven Mile Bridge, Florida. Depth is 2-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, gray snapper and red drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November.

Tackle & technique

Red grouper: Red grouper live on low limestone ledges and potholed live bottom across the West Florida Shelf, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Drift to find hard bottom, then anchor and fish live pinfish, grunts or squid on the bottom with stout conventional tackle. Reel hard right after the bite, because they dive into holes, and use a descending device on fish released from deep water.
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.
Atlantic tarpon: Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →

North Harris Channel
Channel · 1.3 mi
74
Top: Common snookPeak season
- Common snook 74
- Crevalle jack 72
- Atlantic tarpon 71
5 kt WNWL 10:48 PM · 0.2 ftH 2:41 AM · 0.4 ft
Upper Sugarloaf Sound
Bay · 1.9 mi
73
Top: Common snookPeak season
- Common snook 73
- Crevalle jack 71
- Atlantic tarpon 67
5 kt WNWL 11:17 PM · 0.2 ftH 2:56 AM · 0.5 ft
Lower Sugarloaf Channel
Channel · 0.9 mi
71
Top: Common snookPeak season
- Common snook 71
- Atlantic tarpon 68
- Crevalle jack 67
5 kt WNWH 10:53 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:13 AM · 0.2 ft
Lower Sugarloaf Sound
Bay · 1.0 mi
70
Top: Common snookPeak season
- Common snook 70
- Crevalle jack 67
- Atlantic tarpon 65
5 kt WNWH 10:53 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:13 AM · 0.2 ft