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Red grouperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Red grouper
- Now
- 579 AM EST
- Best window
- 7-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Jones Lagoon scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Wednesday, Nov 11 · 8 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
85Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.4 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 8 kt NNEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
57Water temp: 83°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
43Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
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. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. 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 (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 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 (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 Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open (50 per day)
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Red grouper is best here
Shoulder season for Red grouper · 21 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Jones Lagoon
- Depth
- 1-2 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Jones Lagoon
Jones Lagoon is a bay in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are crevalle jack, red drum and common snook. It is peak season now for crevalle jack, red drum, common snook and king mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, gray snapper and red grouper. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November. Red drum peak from October through February. Common snook 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.
- Crevalle jack
- Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Old Rhodes Channel73
Channel · 1.3 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 73
- Common snook 71
- Red drum 66
10 kt ENEL 11:31 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:09 PM · 1.5 ft
- Cutter Bank70
Bar · 1.4 mi
Top: King mackerelPeak season- King mackerel 70
- Crevalle jack 68
- Common snook 66
10 kt ENEL 11:31 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:09 PM · 1.5 ft
- Old Rhodes Point68
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 68
- Common snook 66
- King mackerel 66
10 kt ENEL 11:31 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:09 PM · 1.5 ft
- Hurricane Creek60
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 60
- Red drum 57
- Common snook 55
5 kt NNEH 3:03 PM · 2.3 ftL 9:26 PM · 0.7 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.