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Gray snapperRetention openBar · Florida
The Rocks
24.94°N · 80.56°W · Bar · Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 12 PM · Gray snapper
- Now
- 555 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.2 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when The Rocks 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
25Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
94Wind: 2 kt SSEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
85Water temp: 84°F, primeLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.3 ftSeason & habitat · Gray snapper
Species seasonality
67Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)
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 (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)
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Gray snapper is best here
Shoulder season for Gray snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
The Rocks
- Depth
- 10-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Ledge · Outer · ExposedLedge · 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 The Rocks
The Rocks is a bar in Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound. Depth is 10-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, permit and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for permit, Atlantic tarpon, bonefish and gray snapper. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Permit peak from March through June. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November.
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
- Whale Harbor78
Bay · 3.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 78
- Crevalle jack 76
- Gray snapper 65
2 kt SSEH 7:20 PM · 1.8 ftL 1:55 AM · 0.2 ft
- Snake Creek74
Bay · 2.5 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 74
- Common snook 73
- Red drum 67
2 kt SSEH 8:21 PM · 1.0 ftL 3:00 AM · 0.3 ft
- Cowpens Anchorage70
Channel · 2.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 70
- Crevalle jack 64
- Atlantic tarpon 64
2 kt SSEH 9:58 PM · 0.6 ftL 5:04 AM · 0.2 ft
- Hen and Chickens65
Bar · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 65
- Crevalle jack 58
- Atlantic tarpon 56
2 kt SSEH 9:58 PM · 0.6 ftL 5:04 AM · 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.