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Red grouperShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook62
- Atlantic tarpon61
- Atlantic croaker59
- Crevalle jack59
- Summer flounder59
- Southern flounder58
- Spot57
- King mackerel55
- Spotted seatrout55
- Gray snapper54
- Red drum54
- Little tunny51
- Weakfish51
- Spanish mackerel49
- Black drum48
- Florida pompano48
- Black sea bass47
- Cobia47
- Sheepshead46
- Gag grouper40
- Gray triggerfish39
- Red grouper39
- Red snapper39
- Greater amberjack38
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 9 AM · Red grouper
- Now
- 393 PM EDT
- Best window
- 5 PM-12 AMDusk
Data from: ECMWF · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Whiddens Pass 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
Wind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 3 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
33Light: Partly cloudySolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
44Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Red grouper is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with FWC before you keep a fish.
Species rules here
- Black drum Retention open (5 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))
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- 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)
- 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 · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Whiddens Pass
- Depth
- About 3 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-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 Whiddens Pass
Whiddens Pass is a channel in Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is about 3 ft. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic tarpon, Atlantic croaker and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for little tunny, weakfish, Spanish mackerel and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October.
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.
- 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
- Brice Fine Pass62
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 62
- Crevalle jack 59
- Bonefish 53
3 kt ENE
- Dynamite Pass60
Gut · 4.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 60
- Crevalle jack 57
- Bonefish 52
3 kt ENE
- Cochrans Pass60
Channel · 4.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 60
- Crevalle jack 57
- Bonefish 52
3 kt ENE
- Observation Shoal54
Bar · 3.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 54
- Crevalle jack 50
- Bonefish 46
3 kt ENE
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.