UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Red snapperCheck regulationsSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook79
- Crevalle jack77
- Atlantic tarpon75
- Summer flounder72
- Gray snapper70
- King mackerel69
- Red drum69
- Atlantic croaker68
- Southern flounder66
- Spot66
- Weakfish63
- Little tunny62
- Spanish mackerel61
- Florida pompano60
- Spotted seatrout59
- Cobia56
- Greater amberjack54
- Black sea bass53
- Black drum50
- Gray triggerfish50
- Red grouper50
- Red snapper50
- Wahoo50
- Sheepshead47
- Mahi-mahi44
- Bluefish35
- Yellowfin tuna35
- Sailfish34
- Gag grouper20
Best score today · 7 AM · Red snapper
- Now
- 506 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.8 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 · 6 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
63Tide: FloodingCurrent: 2.5 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
69Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.1 ftSeason & habitat · Red snapper
Species seasonality
43Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Check regulations
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
Red snapper
Check regulationsNo limits are on file for this species here. FWC pages disagree. The snapper page lists Atlantic red snapper in state waters as open with a 20-inch minimum and 2 per person. The Atlantic red snapper season page says the 2026 season (May 22 to June 20 and three October weekends, 1 fish, no minimum size) is temporarily postponed, and Executive Order 26-16 rescinded the 2026 Atlantic red snapper order. Check with FWC before keeping one. Check with FWC before you keep one.
From FWC Atlantic Recreational Red Snapper State Management Season, 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 grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish 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 (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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Red snapper is best here
Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 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 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 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 common snook, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, crevalle jack, Atlantic tarpon and summer flounder, and shoulder season for weakfish, little tunny, Spanish mackerel and Florida pompano. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Little Mud Creek84
Gut · 1.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 84
- Atlantic tarpon 83
- Crevalle jack 77
4 kt EH 9:06 PM · 1.5 ftL 3:40 AM · 0.2 ft
- Middle Point79
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 79
- Atlantic tarpon 78
- Crevalle jack 75
4 kt EH 9:06 PM · 1.5 ftL 3:40 AM · 0.2 ft
- Herman Bay Point79
Cape · 3.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 79
- Atlantic tarpon 78
- Crevalle jack 75
4 kt EH 9:06 PM · 1.5 ftL 3:40 AM · 0.2 ft
- Pete Stones Creek78
Gut · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 78
- Atlantic tarpon 77
- Atlantic croaker 72
4 kt EH 6:42 PM · 3.1 ftL 12:46 AM · 1.0 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.