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Gray snapperRetention openBay · Florida
Big Dead Creek
26.68°N · 82.08°W · Bay · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum68
- Common snook66
- Atlantic croaker64
- Permit62
- Atlantic tarpon61
- Southern flounder60
- Gray snapper57
- Black drum56
- Crevalle jack55
- Spanish mackerel54
- Spotted seatrout52
- Gag grouper50
- Gray triggerfish47
- Red snapper47
- Florida pompano46
- Red grouper46
- King mackerel45
- Cobia44
- Greater amberjack41
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 11 PM · Gray snapper
- Now
- 577 PM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big Dead Creek 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 7 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
29Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
93Wind: 2 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
89Water temp: 85°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.6 ftSeason & habitat · Gray snapper
Species seasonality
69Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier 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
- 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 Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
- 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)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Gray snapper is best here
Peak season for Gray snapper · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Big Dead Creek
- Depth
- About 3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak 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 Big Dead Creek
Big Dead Creek is a bay in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is about 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, common snook and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for permit, Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder and black drum. Red drum peak from September through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Sand Creek68
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Common snook 66
- Atlantic croaker 64
2 kt EH 1:36 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:46 AM · 1.1 ft
- Buzzard Bay68
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Common snook 66
- Atlantic croaker 64
2 kt EH 1:36 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:46 AM · 1.1 ft
- Smokehouse Bay68
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Common snook 66
- Atlantic croaker 63
2 kt EH 1:33 AM · 1.6 ftL 6:51 AM · 1.2 ft
- Jug Creek Point Shoal62
Bar · 3.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 62
- Atlantic croaker 57
- Spanish mackerel 56
2 kt EH 1:32 AM · 1.3 ftL 5:12 AM · 1.1 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.