Waterlands

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Red snapperRetention open

Bay · Florida

Ferry Cutoff

30.57°N · 87.18°W · Bay · Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 5 PM · Red snapper

70/100Great
Now
3810 AM CDT
Best window
1-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High1.7 ft

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 74

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score38Fair
Tide1.7 ftHigh
Wind6 kn NEgusts 14 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 3 s
Air temp83°Hot
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Red snapper(private recreational)

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day (10 snapper combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 16 in, total length
Season
Sep 1 to Oct 4, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Oct 5
Other
Applies to private recreational vessels in Florida Gulf state and federal waters, and to for-hire vessels without a federal permit in Gulf state waters only. Charter captain and crew bag limit is zero. Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Counts toward the 10-snapper aggregate per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. FWC sets this 2026 Gulf private recreational season for both Gulf state waters and Gulf federal waters off Florida.

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 Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
  • 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 Retention open (10 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
  • Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
  • Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
  • Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
  • Snook Retention open (1 per day)
  • 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Red snapper is best here

Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder

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

Red snapper in Florida →

Spot profile

Ferry Cutoff

Depth
2-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonRed 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 Ferry Cutoff

Ferry Cutoff is a bay in Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound, Florida. Depth is 2-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, Florida pompano and gray snapper. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, crevalle jack, Spanish mackerel and Atlantic tarpon. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Gray snapper peak from June through September.

Tackle & technique

Red snapper
Red snapper school over rigs, wrecks, artificial reefs and natural ledges, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Anchor or drift over the structure, chum, and drop cut or live cigar minnows, sardines or squid on circle hooks, using as little weight as the current allows. Federal rules require circle hooks with natural bait in the Gulf and a descending device or venting tool on board.
Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Sullivans Ditch

    Gut · 0.9 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Red drum 58
    • Gray snapper 57

    6 kt NEH 10:21 AM · 1.7 ftL 8:03 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Saultsman Bayou

    Gut · 1.1 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Gray snapper 57
    • Red drum 57

    6 kt NEH 10:21 AM · 1.7 ftL 8:03 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Saultsman Cove

    Bay · 0.2 mi

    66
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 66
    • Red drum 59
    • Florida pompano 55

    6 kt NEH 10:21 AM · 1.7 ftL 8:03 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Bass Hole Cove

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    66
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 66
    • Florida pompano 59
    • Gray snapper 56

    6 kt NEH 10:21 AM · 1.7 ftL 8:03 PM · 0.6 ft

Open in the tide map

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.