Waterlands

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Gag grouperRetention open

Cape · Florida

Cedar Point

26.92°N · 82.34°W · Cape · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

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Best score today · 10 PM · Gag grouper

74/100Great
Now
605 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score60Good
Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward SW
Wind3 kn NEgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 4 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy100% chance of rain
Water88°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Gag grouper

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 24 in, total length
Season
Sep 1 to Sep 30, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Oct 1
Other
Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Charter captain and crew bag limit is zero. No more than 4 grouper combined per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. FWC set the 2026 Gulf state waters gag season to September 1 through 30 by executive order, matching the federal season. Excludes Monroe County.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Groupers, 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)
  • 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))
  • 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Gag grouper is best here

Shoulder season for Gag grouper · 1 more week at shoulder

Gag grouper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Gag grouper · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gag grouper in Florida

Spot profile

Cedar Point

Depth
3-7 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonGag 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 Cedar Point

Cedar Point is a cape in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 3-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, gag grouper, permit and Spanish mackerel. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Gag grouper
Gag hold on ledges, rock piles and wrecks, from 15 to 40 feet in the fall on Florida's Gulf coast out to 250 feet the rest of the year. Troll deep-diving plugs to find productive rocks, then anchor and drop or freeline live pinfish or pigfish on a strong circle hook. Keep the drag tight and turn the fish in the first few seconds or it will reach the rocks.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Stump Pass

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    77
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 77
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Atlantic tarpon 73

    3 kt NEL 6:47 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:35 AM · 1.3 ft

  • Deer Creek

    Bend · 1.4 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Common snook 73
    • Gray snapper 70

    3 kt NEL 6:47 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:35 AM · 1.3 ft

  • Redfish Cove

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    72
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 72
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Gray snapper 69

    3 kt NEL 6:47 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:35 AM · 1.3 ft

  • Point of Pines

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    69
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 69
    • Gray snapper 67
    • Atlantic croaker 65

    3 kt NEL 6:47 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:35 AM · 1.3 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.