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Red grouperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Crevalle jack75
- Common snook74
- Atlantic tarpon71
- Summer flounder71
- Gray snapper68
- King mackerel67
- Atlantic croaker66
- Red drum66
- Southern flounder66
- Spot64
- Little tunny60
- Weakfish60
- Spanish mackerel59
- Spotted seatrout56
- Cobia55
- Greater amberjack53
- Black sea bass52
- Florida pompano50
- Gray triggerfish49
- Black drum48
- Red grouper48
- Red snapper48
- Wahoo48
- Sheepshead46
- Mahi-mahi42
- Bluefish35
- Sailfish35
- Yellowfin tuna35
- Gag grouper20
Best score today · 7 AM · Red grouper
- Now
- 4811 AM EDT
- Best window
- 4-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.9 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Middle Cove 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
63Tide: EbbingCurrent: 2.5 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
84Wind: 1 kt SPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
71Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Major periodSeas: 1.0 ftSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
44Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
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. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. 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 (50 per day)
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (3 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 (2 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Catch & release (No retention)
- Red snapper Check regulations
- 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 (50 per day)
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (2 per day)
- Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
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
Middle Cove
- Depth
- 2-6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonRed grouper
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 Middle Cove
Middle Cove is a bay in Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are crevalle jack, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for crevalle jack, common snook, Atlantic tarpon and summer flounder, and shoulder season for little tunny, weakfish, Spanish mackerel and cobia. Crevalle jack peak from July through October. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.
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.
- Crevalle jack
- Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Little Mud Creek80
Gut · 1.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 80
- Atlantic tarpon 79
- Crevalle jack 75
1 kt SL 3:01 PM · 0.1 ftH 9:06 PM · 1.5 ft
- Herman Bay Point78
Cape · 3.6 mi
Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season- Atlantic tarpon 78
- Common snook 76
- Crevalle jack 75
2 kt SWL 3:01 PM · 0.1 ftH 9:06 PM · 1.5 ft
- Pete Stones Creek77
Gut · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 77
- Atlantic tarpon 76
- Southern flounder 72
1 kt SL 12:23 PM · 1.0 ftH 6:42 PM · 3.1 ft
- Middle Point74
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season- Atlantic tarpon 74
- Common snook 72
- Crevalle jack 72
1 kt SL 3:01 PM · 0.1 ftH 9:06 PM · 1.5 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.