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Red 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 drum73
- Common snook72
- Atlantic croaker71
- Atlantic tarpon65
- Gray snapper65
- Permit65
- Southern flounder64
- Crevalle jack60
- Black drum59
- Spanish mackerel56
- Spotted seatrout56
- Gag grouper55
- Red snapper54
- Florida pompano53
- Gray triggerfish53
- Red grouper52
- Cobia51
- King mackerel50
- Greater amberjack48
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 11 PM · Red snapper
- Now
- 549 PM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.6 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 · 9 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
89Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 3 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
63Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.6 ftSeason & habitat · Red snapper
Species seasonality
43Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Red snapper(private recreational)
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day (10 snapper combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 16 in, total length
- Season
- Sep 1 to Oct 4, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Oct 5
- Other
- Applies to private recreational vessels in Florida Gulf state and federal waters, and to for-hire vessels without a federal permit in Gulf state waters only. Charter captain and crew bag limit is zero. Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Counts toward the 10-snapper aggregate per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. FWC sets this 2026 Gulf private recreational season for both Gulf state waters and Gulf federal waters off Florida.
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 snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper 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))
- 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 Red snapper is best here
Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Big Dead Creek
- Depth
- About 3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonRed 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 Atlantic tarpon, permit, southern flounder and crevalle jack. 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
- Red snapper
- Red snapper school over rigs, wrecks, artificial reefs and natural ledges, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Anchor or drift over the structure, chum, and drop cut or live cigar minnows, sardines or squid on circle hooks, using as little weight as the current allows. Federal rules require circle hooks with natural bait in the Gulf and a descending device or venting tool on board.
- 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 Creek73
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 71
3 kt ESEH 1:36 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:46 AM · 1.1 ft
- Buzzard Bay73
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 71
3 kt ESEH 1:36 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:46 AM · 1.1 ft
- Smokehouse Bay73
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 71
3 kt ESEH 1:33 AM · 1.6 ftL 6:51 AM · 1.2 ft
- Jug Creek Point Shoal72
Bar · 3.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 65
- Gray snapper 65
3 kt ESEH 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.