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Red grouperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 PM · Red grouper
- Now
- 585 PM CDT
- Best window
- 5-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bell Shoal 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 5 kt WPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
68Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 1.1 ftSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
46Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Red grouper
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 20 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Charter captain and crew bag limit is zero in state waters. No more than 4 grouper combined per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Open year-round in Gulf state waters. Federal waters close February 1 through March 31 seaward of 20 fathoms.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Groupers, 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 snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper 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)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Red grouper is best here
Shoulder season for Red grouper · 27 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Bell Shoal
- Depth
- About 20 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · 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 Bell Shoal
Bell Shoal is a bar in St. Andrews Bay Waterways, Florida. Depth is about 20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for red drum, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, black drum, Florida pompano and gag grouper. Red drum peak from September through November. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic croaker 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.
- 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.
- Gray snapper
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Saint Joseph Point78
Cape · 4.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 78
- Atlantic croaker 74
- Gray snapper 68
5 kt WH 1:18 AM · 1.9 ftL 3:03 PM · 0.5 ft
- Nesser Flat72
Bay · 7.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 72
- Atlantic croaker 65
- Gray snapper 65
5 kt WH 5:21 AM · 2.0 ftL 4:21 PM · 0.5 ft
- Wild Goose Lagoon70
Bay · 5.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 70
- Atlantic croaker 60
- Gray snapper 56
5 kt WH 5:21 AM · 2.0 ftL 6:21 PM · 0.5 ft
- Saint Andrew Point61
Cape · 3.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 61
- Gray snapper 56
- Atlantic croaker 55
5 kt WH 5:21 AM · 2.0 ftL 6:21 PM · 0.5 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.