Waterlands

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Gray snapperRetention open

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 · Gray snapper

76/100Great
Now
557 AM EDT
Best window
10 AM-2 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.3 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score55Good
Tide1.3 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward NNW
Wind4 kn Egusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 3 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherOvercast57% chance of rain
Water84°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)

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 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 Gray snapper is best here

Shoulder season for Gray snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder

Gray snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Gray snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gray snapper in Florida

Spot profile

Shark Point

Depth
1-2 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 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, red drum and bonefish. 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

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.
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

    70
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 70
    • Common snook 69
    • Permit 66

    4 kt EL 8:57 AM · 1.1 ftH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ft

  • Mosquito Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    70
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 70
    • Permit 67
    • Atlantic tarpon 66

    4 kt EL 8:57 AM · 1.1 ftH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ft

  • Garfield Bight

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    70
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 70
    • Common snook 69
    • Permit 66

    4 kt EL 8:57 AM · 1.1 ftH 1:42 PM · 3.1 ft

  • Porpoise Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    69
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 69
    • Permit 66
    • Atlantic tarpon 66

    4 kt EL 8:57 AM · 1.1 ftH 1:42 PM · 3.1 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.