Waterlands

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Gray snapperRetention open

Cape · Florida

Needmore Point

26.45°N · 81.87°W · Cape · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

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Best score today · 10 PM · Gray snapper

78/100Great
Now
547 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.5 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: Mon · 79

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score54Good
Tide0.5 ftLow
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind4 kn SSEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherOvercast99% chance of rain
Water85°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 today

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

Needmore Point

Depth
2-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Needmore Point

Needmore Point is a cape in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 2-6 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, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, permit and crevalle jack. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June 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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Ostego Bay

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    77
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 77
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Gray snapper 70

    2 kt EH 11:59 PM · 2.4 ftL 5:27 AM · 1.3 ft

  • Hell Peckney Bay

    Bay · 2.5 mi

    74
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 74
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Gray snapper 67

    2 kt EH 12:20 AM · 2.1 ftL 5:36 AM · 1.3 ft

  • Rocky Bay

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    66
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 66
    • Atlantic croaker 60
    • Gray snapper 59

    4 kt SSEH 12:49 AM · 1.5 ftL 6:13 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Starvation Flats

    Flat · 1.2 mi

    62
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 62
    • Common snook 61
    • Permit 56

    2 kt EH 1:07 AM · 2.1 ftL 6:15 AM · 1.6 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.