Waterlands

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Gag grouperClosed

Cape · Florida

Shark Point

25.14°N · 80.80°W · Cape · Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound

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Best score today · 11 AM · Gag grouper

77/100Great
Now
2011 AM EDT
Best window
11 AM-3 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.9 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score20Poor
Tide1.9 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward ESE
Wind3 kn SEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 3 s
Air temp82°Hot
WeatherOvercast78% chance of rain
Water84°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)

IN EFFECT NOW

Gag grouper

Closed
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Aug 2 to Dec 31, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Other
FWC closed Atlantic gag grouper, including all state waters off Monroe County, for the rest of the 2026 season (Executive Order 26-10). The 2027 season has not been announced.

From FWC news release, May 13, 2026: Atlantic gag grouper closes August 2 (EO 26-10), 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)
  • 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 Check regulations
  • 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 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 Gag grouper is best here

Out of season for Gag grouper · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks

Gag grouper season by week of the year. Out of season for Gag grouper · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gag grouper in Florida

Spot profile

Shark Point

Depth
1-2 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Off seasonGag 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 Shark Point

Shark Point is a cape in Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound. Depth in the nearest water is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, permit and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for permit, Atlantic tarpon, bonefish and red drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Permit peak from March through June. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June.

Tackle & technique

Gag grouper
Gag hold on ledges, rock piles and wrecks, from 15 to 40 feet in the fall on Florida's Gulf coast out to 250 feet the rest of the year. Troll deep-diving plugs to find productive rocks, then anchor and drop or freeline live pinfish or pigfish on a strong circle hook. Keep the drag tight and turn the fish in the first few seconds or it will reach the rocks.
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.
Permit
Permit cruise flat edges and channels in 2 to 6 feet of water in the Keys and Biscayne Bay, and school over wrecks and reefs in 30 to 120 feet, especially during the spring spawn. A live or artificial crab is the standard bait, cast ahead of a tailing fish on the flats or dropped to a school on a wreck. They spook easily in shallow water, so good light and a long, quiet cast are needed.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Rankin Bight

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    78
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 78
    • Common snook 77
    • Bonefish 74

    3 kt SEH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ftL 10:04 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Garfield Bight

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    78
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 78
    • Common snook 77
    • Bonefish 74

    3 kt SEH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ftL 10:04 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Mosquito Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    77
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 77
    • Permit 75
    • Crevalle jack 73

    3 kt SEH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ftL 10:04 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Porpoise Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    77
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 77
    • Bonefish 74
    • Permit 74

    3 kt SEH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ftL 10:04 PM · 0.7 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.