Waterlands

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Gray snapperRetention open

Bay · Florida

Biscayne Bay

25.58°N · 80.23°W · Bay · Biscayne Bay

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Best score today · 8 AM · Gray snapper

77/100Great
Now
526 PM EDT
Best window
7-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.9 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Oct 1 · 6 PM

Time6P
Score60Good
Tide0.9 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind6 kn Egusts 20 · steady
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherOvercast80% chance of rain
Water87°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Gray snapper

Retention open
Daily limit
5 per day (10 snapper combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 10 in, total length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Open year-round in Gulf and Atlantic state waters. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Counts toward the 10-snapper aggregate per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Federal waters have a 12-inch minimum and a 10-fish bag.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Snappers, read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Atlantic croaker Retention open (50 per day)
  • 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 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 (1 per day)
  • Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
  • 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 (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 Gray snapper is best here

Shoulder season for Gray snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder

Gray snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Gray snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gray snapper in Florida

Spot profile

Biscayne Bay

Depth
About 10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonGray snapper

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 Biscayne Bay

Biscayne Bay is a bay in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is about 10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
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.
Bonefish
Bonefish push onto shallow sand and grass flats with the rising tide to root for shrimp, crabs and clams, often in water under 2 feet deep, and fall back to channel edges and deeper flats as the tide drops. Most fish are sight cast to with a small shrimp or crab fly, a light jig or a live shrimp, which takes bright sun, light wind and a quiet approach. They are catch and release only in Florida, and in Hawaii many anglers also fish bait from shore along sand channels and reef edges.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Safety Valve

    Gut · 4.3 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 67
    • Bonefish 65
    • Atlantic tarpon 65

    2 kt NEL 12:01 AM · 0.8 ftH 5:20 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Black Ledge

    Bar · 1.2 mi

    64
    Top: BonefishShoulder season
    • Bonefish 64
    • Common snook 58
    • Permit 55

    2 kt NEL 12:07 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:02 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Deering Bay Channel

    Channel · 4.7 mi

    63
    Top: BonefishShoulder season
    • Bonefish 63
    • Common snook 62
    • Atlantic tarpon 59

    1 kt WSWL 12:07 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:02 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Featherbed Bank

    Bar · 3.7 mi

    58
    Top: BonefishShoulder season
    • Bonefish 58
    • Common snook 58
    • Crevalle jack 53

    2 kt NEL 1:11 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:15 AM · 1.5 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.