Waterlands

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Red grouperRetention open

Channel · Florida

Matanzas Pass

26.45°N · 81.93°W · Channel · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 11 PM · Red grouper

85/100Epic
Now
4112 AM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
High2.1 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 · 87

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 AM · now

Time12ANOW
Score41Fair
Tide2.1 ftHigh
CurrentFlood0.7 kn · toward WSW
Wind4 kn SEgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy36% cloud
Water84°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Red grouper

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 20 in, total length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Charter captain and crew bag limit is zero in state waters. No more than 4 grouper combined per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Open year-round in Gulf state waters. Federal waters close February 1 through March 31 seaward of 20 fathoms.

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)
  • 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 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 Red grouper is best here

Shoulder season for Red grouper · 27 more weeks at shoulder

Red grouper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red grouper · 27 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red grouper in Florida →

Spot profile

Matanzas Pass

Depth
2-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Pass · Inner · ProtectedPass · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonRed 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 Matanzas Pass

Matanzas Pass is a channel in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and protected.

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, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel and southern flounder. 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

Red grouper
Red grouper live on low limestone ledges and potholed live bottom across the West Florida Shelf, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Drift to find hard bottom, then anchor and fish live pinfish, grunts or squid on the bottom with stout conventional tackle. Reel hard right after the bite, because they dive into holes, and use a descending device on fish released from deep water.
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 →
  • Estero Pass

    Channel · 1.9 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Common snook 77
    • Red drum 68

    4 kt SEH 12:42 AM · 2.4 ftL 4:51 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Hurricane Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    74
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 74
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Red drum 67

    4 kt SEH 12:42 AM · 2.4 ftL 4:51 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Pelican Bay

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    74
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 74
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Red drum 67

    4 kt SEH 12:42 AM · 2.4 ftL 4:51 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Hell Peckney Bay

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Common snook 68
    • Florida pompano 62

    4 kt SEL 5:36 AM · 1.3 ftH 11:34 AM · 2.7 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.