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Red grouperRetention openBar · Florida
Western Dry Rocks
24.45°N · 81.93°W · Bar · Gulf of America including Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoal Channel
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 AM · Red grouper
- Now
- 543 PM EDT
- Best window
- 4-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Western Dry 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 · 3 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
42Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt WNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
61Water temp: 88°F, hotLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.1 ftSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
72Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)
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. 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
- 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 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 Red grouper is best here
Shoulder season for Red grouper · 27 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Western Dry Rocks
- Depth
- About 25 ft
- Structure
- Ledge · Outer · Exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonRed grouper
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Western Dry Rocks
Western Dry Rocks is a bar in Gulf of America including Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoal Channel, Florida. Depth is about 25 ft. Its profile reads ledge, outer water and 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 grouper and gray snapper. 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
- 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.
- 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
- Sand Key Channel63
Channel · 1.0 mi
Top: Atlantic tarponShoulder season- Atlantic tarpon 63
- Common snook 62
- Crevalle jack 60
5 kt WNWH 8:32 PM · 1.6 ftL 1:55 AM · 0.7 ft
- Satan Shoal61
Bar · 2.9 mi
Top: Atlantic tarponShoulder season- Atlantic tarpon 61
- Crevalle jack 60
- Common snook 56
5 kt WNWH 8:32 PM · 1.6 ftL 1:55 AM · 0.7 ft
- Middle Ground60
Bar · 3.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 60
- Atlantic tarpon 58
- Crevalle jack 57
5 kt WNWH 8:32 PM · 1.6 ftL 1:55 AM · 0.7 ft
- Parsonage Shoal58
Bar · 2.7 mi
Top: Atlantic tarponShoulder season- Atlantic tarpon 58
- Crevalle jack 57
- Common snook 56
5 kt WNWH 8:32 PM · 1.6 ftL 1:55 AM · 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.