UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Gray snapperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum70
- Common snook68
- Atlantic croaker64
- Southern flounder64
- Gray snapper62
- Atlantic tarpon60
- Crevalle jack59
- Permit58
- Spanish mackerel58
- Spotted seatrout52
- Black drum50
- Gag grouper50
- Cobia49
- Florida pompano49
- King mackerel49
- Gray triggerfish48
- Red snapper48
- Red grouper47
- Greater amberjack46
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 10 PM · Gray snapper
- Now
- 625 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Murdock Bayou 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
58Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.8 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
94Wind: 2 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
83Water temp: 85°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Gray snapper
Species seasonality
69Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In 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
Murdock Bayou
- Depth
- 1-6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · 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 Murdock Bayou
Murdock Bayou is a bay in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 1-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and semi-exposed.
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 southern flounder, Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack and permit. 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
- The Narrows76
Bay · 1.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Atlantic tarpon 69
- Red drum 68
2 kt EL 5:41 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:05 AM · 1.5 ft
- Primo Bay74
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 74
- Red drum 66
- Gray snapper 65
2 kt EH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft
- Primo Point70
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 70
- Red drum 62
- Gray snapper 60
2 kt EH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft
- Platt Point68
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 68
- Red drum 63
- Gray snapper 62
2 kt EL 5:41 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:05 AM · 1.5 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.