Waterlands

Species guide · Florida

Gray snapper fishing in Florida

Lutjanus griseus, a nearshore species also called mangrove snapper, mango snapper and black snapper. Listed for the South Florida and the Keys, Eastern Gulf and South Atlantic regions. Shoulder season, about 25 more weeks.

Right now it scores best in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound at 65, one of 31 Florida bay systems where the Waterlands engine is scoring it.

Season now

Shoulder season
Where it's scoring nowAll Florida waters

Season by month

From the Waterlands saltwater species research: when the fish are present and biting, not whether retention is open.

South Florida and the Keys

Shoulder season, about 25 more weeks
  1. Jan: Shoulder season
  2. Feb: Shoulder season
  3. Mar: Shoulder season
  4. Apr: Shoulder season
  5. May: Peak season
  6. Jun: Peak season
  7. Jul: Peak season
  8. Aug: Peak season
  9. Sep: Shoulder season
  10. Oct: Shoulder season
  11. Nov: Shoulder season
  12. Dec: Shoulder season

Peak: May to Aug. In season (shoulder or peak): all year.

Research notes, South Florida and the Keys region

Resident in mangroves, bridges, channels and patch reefs year-round, and spawning runs nearly year-round in South Florida (GSMFC). Adults stack on Keys reefs in 20-90 ft to spawn around the summer full moons.

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

Eastern Gulf

Shoulder season, about 4 more weeks
  1. Jan: Off season
  2. Feb: Off season
  3. Mar: Off season
  4. Apr: Shoulder season
  5. May: Shoulder season
  6. Jun: Peak season
  7. Jul: Peak season
  8. Aug: Peak season
  9. Sep: Peak season
  10. Oct: Shoulder season
  11. Nov: Shoulder season
  12. Dec: Off season

Peak: Jun to Sep. In season (shoulder or peak): Apr to Nov.

Research notes, Eastern Gulf region

Docks, bridges and seawalls in Tampa Bay and nearshore ledges off the Big Bend and Panhandle; best June through September. Cold snaps push fish deeper and shut the inshore bite.

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

South Atlantic

Off season, about 25 more weeks
  1. Jan: Off season
  2. Feb: Off season
  3. Mar: Off season
  4. Apr: Off season
  5. May: Shoulder season
  6. Jun: Peak season
  7. Jul: Peak season
  8. Aug: Peak season
  9. Sep: Peak season
  10. Oct: Shoulder season
  11. Nov: Off season
  12. Dec: Off season

Peak: Jun to Sep. In season (shoulder or peak): May to Oct.

Research notes, South Atlantic region

Northeast Florida jetties and nearshore reefs are the core; Georgia and the Carolinas see fewer fish, mostly in summer. Juvenile winter survival limits how far north adults occur (Wuenschel et al. 2012).

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

Where it's scoring now · 31

Florida bay systems ranked by the Waterlands engine's gray snapper score this hour.

1
65Great
Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (65) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (72) · 126 named spots

2
65Great
Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (65) · Best day Sun, Nov 1 at 6 AM (71) · 109 named spots

3
64Good
St. Andrews Bay Waterways

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (65) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 7 AM (68) · 79 named spots

4
64Good
Tampa Bay waters

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (64) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (71) · 195 named spots

5
63Good
Biscayne Bay

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (63) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 7 AM (73) · 82 named spots

6
63Good
Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (63) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 5 PM (68) · 13 named spots

7
62Good
Coastal waters from Jupiter Inlet to Deerfield Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (62) · Best day Sun, Nov 8 at 4 PM (71) · 6 named spots

8
62Good
Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (62) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (67) · 24 named spots

9
61Good
Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (62) · Best day Sat, Nov 7 at 3 PM (69) · 46 named spots

10
61Good
Western Choctawhatchee Bay

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (61) · Best day Sun, Nov 1 at 8 AM (65) · 23 named spots

11
60Good
Bayside and Gulfside from Craig Key to West End of Seven Mile Bridge

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (60) · Best day Mon, Nov 2 at 7 AM (72) · 199 named spots

12
60Good
Mona Passage Southward to 17N

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (60) · Best day Fri, Nov 6 at 6 AM (65)

13
58Good
Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (58) · Best day Sun, Nov 1 at 6 PM (70) · 81 named spots

14
58Good
Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (58) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (63) · 22 named spots

15
57Good
Coastal Waters From Ochlockonee River to Apalachicola FL out to 20 Nm

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (57) · Best day Fri, Nov 6 at 9 AM (67) · 39 named spots

16
57Good
Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (57) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (69) · 131 named spots

17
57Good
Gulf of America including Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoal Channel

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (57) · Best day Sun, Nov 1 at 6 AM (72) · 16 named spots

18
56Good
Coastal waters from Suwannee River to Keaton Beach out 20 NM

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (56) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (69) · 20 named spots

19
53Good
Caribbean Waters of Puerto Rico from 10 NM to 17N, including the Coastal Waters of Saint Croix

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (53) · Best day Sat, Nov 7 at 6 AM (60)

20
53Good
Coastal waters from St. Augustine to Flagler Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (53) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 8 AM (58) · 4 named spots

21
52Good
Apalachee Bay or Coastal Waters From Keaton Beach to Ochlockonee River Fl out to 20 Nm

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (52) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (67) · 49 named spots

22
52Good
Straits of Florida from Ocean Reef to Craig Key out 20 NM

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (52) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 7 AM (67)

23
52Good
Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (52) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 8 AM (54) · 92 named spots

24
50Good
Straits of Florida from Craig Key to west end of Seven Mile Bridge out 20 NM

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (50) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 7 AM (67)

25
49Good
Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (49) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (52) · 88 named spots

26
48Good
Lake Okeechobee

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (48) · Best day Sun, Nov 1 at 6 PM (54) · 11 named spots

27
44Fair
Atlantic Waters of Puerto Rico AND USVI from 10 NM to 19.5N

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (44) · Best day Thu, Nov 5 at 8 AM (63)

28
44Fair
Coastal Waters from Cabo San Juan to the waters between Anegada Island and Virgin Gorda and North 10 NM

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (44) · Best day Sat, Nov 7 at 11 PM (61)

29
42Fair
Coastal Waters east of Puerto Rico, around Vieques, and around and just north of Culebra and Saint John

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (42) · Best day Thu, Nov 5 at 8 AM (63)

30
40Fair
Anegada Passage east of Virgin Gorda and Saint Croix south to 17N

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (40) · Best day Thu, Nov 5 at 8 AM (53)

31
38Fair
Flagler Beach to Volusia-Brevard County Line 0-20 nm

Best window today 11 PM-12 AM (38) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 9 AM (53) · 21 named spots

How and where it feeds

Water temperature
Feeds from 62°F to 91°F, best between 74°F and 86°F.
Water depth
3 to 180 ft of water.
Structure
Mangrove, bridge, reef, jetty, ledge, channel, wreck and pier, in that order of preference.
Tide and current
Prefers moving water, with moderate current.Inshore fish feed along mangrove edges, bridge pilings and channel drop-offs while the tide runs, and the bite slows at slack. On offshore reefs a light current carries chum and pulls fish up off the bottom.
Light
Bites best around dawn and dusk; feeds at night too.
Pressure
Little response to pressure changes.
Wind and sea limits
18 kt of wind and 4 ft of sea. The Waterlands engine scores hours down as conditions pass them.

Tackle and technique

Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.

Methods
bottom fishing, chumming, freelining, light jigging
Lures
small bucktail jigs, jig heads tipped with shrimp
Bait
live shrimp, pilchards, cut ballyhoo, squid, pinfish, fiddler crabs

Regulations

FWC saltwater regulations Buy a Florida fishing license License types

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Synced with FWC Oct 31, 2026. Rules shown verified Sep 13, 2026.

Federal waters (Gulf)Retention openFederal

10 Gulf snappers combined per day · Minimum 12 in, total length

Season: No closed season on file

No separate gray snapper limit. Gray snapper count toward the 10-snapper bag. Excludes red, lane and vermilion snapper. No more than 5 mutton snapper. Off Florida, fishing is closed year-round in the Madison and Swanson sites and Steamboat Lumps, and January through April in the Edges, except for highly migratory species such as tunas and billfish (50 CFR 622.34(a)).

50 CFR part 622, subpart B (Gulf reef fish) · verified Sep 13, 2026

Federal waters (Atlantic)Retention openFederal

10 South Atlantic snappers combined per day · Minimum 12 in, total length

Season: No closed season on file

No separate gray snapper limit. Gray snapper count toward the 10-snapper bag. Excludes red and vermilion snapper. No more than 5 mutton snapper. No snapper-grouper fishing in the North Florida, St. Lucie Hump and East Hump marine protected areas or the Warsaw Hole/50 Fathom Hole spawning area (50 CFR 622.183(a)).

50 CFR part 622, subpart I (South Atlantic snapper-grouper) · verified Sep 13, 2026

StatewideRetention open

5 per day (10 snapper combined) · Minimum 10 in, total length

Season: No closed season on file

Open year-round in Gulf and Atlantic state waters. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Counts toward the 10-snapper aggregate per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Federal waters have a 12-inch minimum and a 10-fish bag.

FWC Recreational Regulations: Snappers · verified Sep 13, 2026

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