Waterlands

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Red grouperRetention open

Bay · Florida

Browns Bay

29.00°N · 80.89°W · Bay · Flagler Beach to Volusia-Brevard County Line 0-20 nm

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Best score today · 6 PM · Red grouper

61/100Good
Now
301 PM EST
Best window
5-7 PMDusk
Tide now
Flooding2.7 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 7 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score35Fair
Tide1.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind5 kn NEgusts 17 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.9 ft · 7 s
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water77°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Red grouper

Retention open
Daily limit
3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 20 in, total length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Jan 1
Other
Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. No more than 3 grouper and tilefish combined per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Open May 1 through December 31. Closed January 1 through April 30.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Groupers, read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Atlantic croaker Retention open (50 per day)
  • Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
  • Bluefish Retention open (3 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 (10 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Catch & release (No retention)
  • Red snapper Check regulations
  • 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 (50 per day)
  • Spotted seatrout Closed (No retention)
  • 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 Red grouper is best here

Out of season for Red grouper · shoulder season starts in 26 weeks

Red grouper season by week of the year. Out of season for Red grouper · shoulder season starts in 26 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red grouper in Florida →

Spot profile

Browns Bay

Depth
Up to 3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
Season
Off 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 Browns Bay

Browns Bay is a bay in Flagler Beach to Volusia-Brevard County Line 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is up to 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are wahoo, yellowfin tuna and sailfish. It is peak season now for wahoo, black sea bass, bluefish and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for yellowfin tuna, sailfish, Atlantic croaker and black drum. Wahoo peak from April through May and from October through November. Yellowfin tuna peak from March through May. Sailfish peak from December through January.

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.
Wahoo
Wahoo patrol drop-offs, seamounts, rigs and weed lines where current and temperature breaks meet, usually along the 100 to 600 foot contours. High-speed trolling at 12 to 18 knots with weighted lures covers ground, and slower trolling with ballyhoo or diving plugs works over known structure. Use wire leader, because their teeth cut monofilament.
Yellowfin tuna
Yellowfin feed in blue water along canyon edges, the shelf break, current edges, deepwater platforms and FADs, usually from the surface to about 300 feet. Troll ballyhoo, spreader bars and cedar plugs early in the day, then chunk butterfish or sardines, fish live hardtails, or drop jigs to marks. Around Gulf platforms and in the canyons the night bite on chunks and jigs is often better than the day.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Indian River North

    Channel · 2.1 mi

    50
    Top: WahooPeak season
    • Wahoo 50
    • Yellowfin tuna 38
    • Sailfish 35

    11 kt EH 3:07 PM · 1.2 ftL 9:57 PM · 0.1 ft

  • Snake Creek

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    49
    Top: WahooPeak season
    • Wahoo 49
    • Yellowfin tuna 38
    • Sailfish 34

    11 kt EH 1:53 PM · 2.8 ftL 8:28 PM · 0.2 ft

  • Little Snapper Cut

    Channel · 0.3 mi

    49
    Top: WahooPeak season
    • Wahoo 49
    • Yellowfin tuna 38
    • Sailfish 34

    11 kt EH 1:53 PM · 2.8 ftL 8:28 PM · 0.2 ft

  • Big Snapper Cut

    Channel · 0.4 mi

    49
    Top: WahooPeak season
    • Wahoo 49
    • Yellowfin tuna 38
    • Sailfish 34

    11 kt EH 1:53 PM · 2.8 ftL 8:28 PM · 0.2 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.