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Common snookCatch & releaseBar · Florida
Higdons Reef
25.14°N · 80.32°W · Bar · Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 AM · Common snook
- Now
- 6112 AM EDT
- Best window
- 9 AM-12 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.0 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Higdons Reef 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
40Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 9 kt SEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
68Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 1.6 ftSeason & habitat · Common snook
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Catch & release
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)
Snook
Catch & release- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- May 1 to Sep 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Retention open from Oct 1
- Other
- Harvest is closed, but snook may be caught and released with a snook permit and a saltwater fishing license. 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 (10 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
- Permit Retention open (1 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
- Red snapper Check regulations
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- 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 Common snook is best here
Peak season for Common snook · 9 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Higdons Reef
- Depth
- 10-25 ftSlope
- Structure
- Reef · Outer · ExposedReef · slope
- Season
- Peak 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 Higdons Reef
Higdons Reef is a bar in Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound. Depth is 10-25 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads reef, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for gray snapper, Atlantic tarpon, red grouper and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Gray snapper peak from May through August. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June.
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.
- 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.
- Atlantic tarpon
- Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Whitmore Bight67
Bay · 3.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 67
- Atlantic tarpon 60
- Crevalle jack 59
9 kt SEL 12:48 AM · 1.0 ftH 6:43 AM · 2.4 ft
- Sound Point64
Cape · 2.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Atlantic tarpon 57
- Crevalle jack 55
9 kt SEL 12:48 AM · 1.0 ftH 6:43 AM · 2.4 ft
- Upper Sound Point64
Cape · 3.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Atlantic tarpon 57
- Crevalle jack 55
9 kt SEL 12:48 AM · 1.0 ftH 6:43 AM · 2.4 ft
- Cannon Patch60
Bar · 2.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 60
- Crevalle jack 55
- Atlantic tarpon 51
15 kt SEL 3:26 AM · 0.4 ftH 8:57 AM · 0.9 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.