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Red grouperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum74
- Atlantic croaker73
- Common snook73
- Atlantic tarpon66
- Gray snapper66
- Southern flounder65
- Permit64
- Black drum62
- Crevalle jack59
- Spotted seatrout58
- Red snapper57
- Gag grouper56
- Spanish mackerel55
- Gray triggerfish54
- Florida pompano53
- Red grouper53
- Cobia51
- King mackerel50
- Greater amberjack48
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Red grouper
- Now
- 5312 AM EDT
- Best window
- 3-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when The Mud Hole 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 · 12 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
97Tide: FloodingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt SEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
48Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.8 ftSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
44Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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)
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
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
The Mud Hole
- Depth
- About 3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 The Mud Hole
The Mud Hole is a bay in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is about 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic croaker and common snook. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker, common snook and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, permit and black drum. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.
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.
- 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.
- 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
- Matlacha Pass81
Channel · 1.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 81
- Atlantic croaker 76
- Red drum 74
4 kt SEH 1:36 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:46 AM · 1.1 ft
- Pine Island Creek78
Gut · 2.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 78
- Atlantic croaker 75
- Red drum 73
4 kt SEH 1:36 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:46 AM · 1.1 ft
- Rock Creek76
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 76
- Common snook 74
- Atlantic croaker 73
4 kt SEH 1:44 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:47 AM · 1.2 ft
- Pontoon Bay74
Bay · 2.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 74
- Atlantic croaker 73
- Common snook 73
4 kt SEH 1:36 AM · 1.7 ftL 6:46 AM · 1.1 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.