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Best score today · 7 PM · Red grouper

83/100Great

Now: 473 PM EST
Best window: 5-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now: Low0.3 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: Wed · 85

24-hour conditions

Thursday, Nov 5 · 9 AM

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time9A

Score63Good

Tide1.3 ft ▲Flooding

CurrentFlood0.4 kn · toward E

Wind4 kn ESEgusts 10 · steady

Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 4 s

Air temp76°Warm

WeatherMostly cloudy60% cloud

Water79°FBias corrected

THU · NOV 5

12A

1A

2A

3A

4A

5A

6A

7A

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

51

54

55

47

43

54

58

63

51

44

47

52

56

57

51

49

55

57

50

39

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0.5

0.3

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63

53

63

84

104

114

103

81

71

82

93

104

83

62

52

42

43

42

0.1

35%

38%

39%

37%

33%

79°

78°

79°

80°

79°

Hour

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 Closed (No retention)
Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
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 Closed (No retention)
Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
Snook Retention open (1 per day)
Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
Spot Retention open
Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
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 · 21 more weeks at shoulder

Peak
Shoulder
Off
This week

Red grouper in Florida →

Spot profile

Shell Pass

Depth: 4-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure: Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Shell Pass

Shell Pass is a channel in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 4-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout and red drum. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout, red drum and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, king mackerel and gray snapper. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September 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.
Spanish mackerel: Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Spotted seatrout: Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.

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Big Jim Creek
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Top: Red drumPeak season
- Red drum 71
- Spotted seatrout 70
- Black drum 60
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Jug Creek
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Top: Red drumPeak season
- Red drum 66
- Spotted seatrout 64
- Florida pompano 57
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Jug Creek Point Shoal
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Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
- Florida pompano 64
- Spanish mackerel 62
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Back Bay
Bay · 1.0 mi
63
Top: Red drumPeak season
- Red drum 63
- Spotted seatrout 62
- Florida pompano 61
9 kt EH 10:55 PM · 1.3 ftL 2:07 AM · 1.2 ft