Waterlands

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Gray snapperRetention open

Bar · Florida

Johnson Shoals

26.66°N · 82.26°W · Bar · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Gray snapper

77/100Great
Now
571 AM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.3 ft ▼

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Thu · 81

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score57Good
Tide1.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentFlood0.5 kn · toward ENE
Wind4 kn SEgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy44% cloud
Water84°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Gray snapper is best here

Peak season for Gray snapper · 1 more week at peak

Gray snapper season by week of the year. Peak season for Gray snapper · 1 more week at peak.
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  • Shoulder
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Gray snapper in Florida →

Spot profile

Johnson Shoals

Depth
10-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · 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 Johnson Shoals

Johnson Shoals is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 10-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel and black drum. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November.

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.
Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
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

View all on map →
  • Primo Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Common snook 71
    • Red drum 64

    4 kt SEL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ftH 11:02 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Murdock Bayou

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Common snook 64
    • Red drum 63

    4 kt SEL 4:43 AM · 1.2 ftH 10:51 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Primo Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Common snook 67
    • Red drum 60

    4 kt SEL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ftH 11:02 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Platt Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    65
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Common snook 64
    • Red drum 56

    4 kt SEL 4:43 AM · 1.2 ftH 10:51 AM · 2.2 ft

Open in the tide map

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.