Waterlands

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Common snookRetention open

Bay · Florida

Goodland Bay

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

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Best score today · 6 AM · Common snook

83/100Great
Now
733 PM EST
Best window
3-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.9 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Nov 9 · 4 PM

Time4P
Score73Great
Tide3.0 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.7 knmodeled · toward W
Wind6 kn WNWgusts 17 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 2 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy43% cloud
Water80°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Snook

Retention open
Daily limit
1 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Slot 28 to 33 in, total length
Season
Oct 1 to Nov 30, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Catch & release from Dec 1
Other
Snook permit and saltwater fishing license required. Must stay whole until landed ashore. For-hire captain and crew may not keep a bag limit. Hook and line only. Closed December 1 through the end of February and May 1 through September 30. Open March 1 through April 30 and October 1 through November 30. Regional rules apply in inland, state and adjacent federal waters.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Snook, 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 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)
  • 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)

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Common snook is best here

Shoulder season for Common snook · 4 more weeks at shoulder

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

Common snook in Florida →

Spot profile

Goodland Bay

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

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 Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and common snook. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, gray triggerfish and red snapper. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Coon Key Pass

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    79
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 79
    • Spanish mackerel 78
    • Common snook 75

    10 kt ENEH 7:52 PM · 3.1 ftL 1:29 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Sugar Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    78
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 78
    • Red drum 76
    • Spanish mackerel 73

    10 kt ENEH 7:52 PM · 3.1 ftL 1:29 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Blue Hill Creek

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    78
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 78
    • Red drum 76
    • Spanish mackerel 73

    10 kt ENEH 7:52 PM · 3.1 ftL 1:29 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Big Marco River

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    76
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 76
    • Spanish mackerel 72
    • Common snook 70

    10 kt ENEH 8:40 PM · 2.0 ftL 1:38 AM · 1.6 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.