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Red snapperClosedBay · Florida
Fishing Bend
30.34°N · 87.14°W · Bay · Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Red snapper
- Now
- 2011 AM CST
- Best window
- 5 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Fishing Bend 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 · 11 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.6 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 7 kt EPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
50Water temp: 73°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 3.9 ftSeason & habitat · Red snapper
Species seasonality
44Closed season · capped at 20Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Closed
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Red snapper(private recreational)
Closed- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- Aug 1, 2026 to Jan 4, 2027
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Retention open from Nov 7
- Other
- Closed between the 2026 open days. The fall season is daily September 1 through October 4, then weekends and holidays only through January 4, 2027. The 2027 season has not been announced.
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 snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- 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 Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Red snapper is best here
Shoulder season for Red snapper · 25 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Fishing Bend
- Depth
- 5-15 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
- 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 Fishing Bend
Fishing Bend is a bay in Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound, Florida. Depth is 5-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, Spanish mackerel and sheepshead. It is peak season now for red drum, Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for sheepshead, king mackerel, black drum and gray snapper. Red drum peak from September through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Sheepshead peak from February through April.
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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Butcherpen Cove69
Bay · 2.8 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 69
- Red drum 68
- King mackerel 62
7 kt EL 3:30 PM · 0.3 ftH 6:21 AM · 1.3 ft
- English Navy Cove67
Bay · 2.4 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 67
- Spanish mackerel 66
- King mackerel 60
7 kt EL 3:30 PM · 0.3 ftH 6:21 AM · 1.3 ft
- Grassy Point65
Cape · 1.9 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 65
- Red drum 64
- King mackerel 62
7 kt EL 3:30 PM · 0.3 ftH 6:21 AM · 1.3 ft
- Sabine Point63
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 63
- Spanish mackerel 62
- King mackerel 60
7 kt EL 3:30 PM · 0.3 ftH 6:21 AM · 1.3 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.