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Gray snapperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Gray snapper
- Now
- 5812 AM EST
- Best window
- 6-9 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Safety Valve 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
Friday, Nov 13 · 3 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
87Water temp: 82°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Gray snapper
Species seasonality
62Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
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 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 Gray snapper is best here
Shoulder season for Gray snapper · 25 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Safety Valve
- Depth
- 6-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Outer · ExposedChannel · 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 Safety Valve
Safety Valve is a gut in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 6-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are common snook, red drum and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, crevalle jack and king mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, gray snapper and Florida pompano. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Red drum peak from October through February. 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.
- 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
- Biscayne Flats71
Bar · 3.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 71
- Common snook 65
- Atlantic tarpon 61
6 kt EH 2:19 AM · 2.4 ftL 8:47 AM · 0.5 ft
- Biscayne Channel70
Channel · 4.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 70
- Red drum 68
- Crevalle jack 65
6 kt EH 2:19 AM · 2.4 ftL 8:47 AM · 0.5 ft
- Lewis Cut69
Bay · 4.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 69
- Red drum 67
- Crevalle jack 66
5 kt ENEH 3:02 AM · 1.9 ftL 9:43 AM · 0.5 ft
- Biscayne Bay68
Bay · 4.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 68
- Red drum 65
- Crevalle jack 63
5 kt ENEH 2:38 AM · 2.2 ftL 9:26 AM · 0.4 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.