Waterlands

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Gray snapperRetention open

Bay · Florida

Goodland Bay

25.93°N · 81.64°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 PM · Gray snapper

83/100Great
Now
451 AM EDT
Best window
3-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Low2.2 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 · 84

24-hour conditions

Monday, Nov 2 · 8 AM

Time8A
Score59Good
Tide3.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.8 knmodeled · toward WNW
Wind6 kn NNEgusts 13 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 2 s
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherOvercast56% chance of rain
Water80°FBias corrected

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 Closed (No retention)
  • 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 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 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 Gray snapper is best here

Shoulder season for Gray snapper · 4 more weeks at shoulder

Gray snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Gray snapper · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gray snapper in Florida →

Spot profile

Goodland Bay

Depth
Up to 6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder 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 Goodland Bay

Goodland Bay is a bay in Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is up to 6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are common snook, Florida pompano and red drum. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, red drum, Spanish mackerel and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, black drum and gray snapper. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November.

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.
Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Coon Key Pass

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    63
    Top: Common snookShoulder season
    • Common snook 63
    • Florida pompano 60
    • Spanish mackerel 60

    8 kt ENEH 5:28 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:05 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Sugar Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    61
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 61
    • Common snook 59
    • Florida pompano 59

    8 kt ENEH 5:28 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:05 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Blue Hill Creek

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    60
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 60
    • Common snook 59
    • Florida pompano 58

    8 kt ENEH 5:28 AM · 3.8 ftL 1:05 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Big Marco River

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    59
    Top: Common snookShoulder season
    • Common snook 59
    • Florida pompano 59
    • Red drum 57

    8 kt ENEH 6:00 AM · 2.8 ftL 1:40 PM · 0.3 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.