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Gray snapperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook69
- Atlantic croaker63
- Gray snapper63
- Red drum62
- Atlantic tarpon60
- Southern flounder54
- Black drum53
- Permit53
- Spanish mackerel51
- Crevalle jack50
- Florida pompano48
- Red snapper47
- Gag grouper46
- Spotted seatrout45
- Gray triggerfish44
- Red grouper44
- Cobia43
- King mackerel40
- Greater amberjack39
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 10 PM · Gray snapper
- Now
- 635 AM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.2 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big 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 · 5 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
42Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
79Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Gray snapper
Species seasonality
83Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Gray snapper
Retention open- Daily limit
- 5 per day (10 snapper combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 10 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- 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.
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 Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper 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 grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Gray snapper is best here
Peak season for Gray snapper · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Big Bend
- Depth
- 1-4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonGray 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 Big Bend
Big Bend is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, black drum and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Big Bend Channel62
Channel · 2.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 62
- Atlantic croaker 59
- Gray snapper 57
4 kt ENEH 11:10 AM · 2.5 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ft
- Alafia River Channel62
Channel · 3.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 62
- Atlantic croaker 60
- Gray snapper 58
4 kt ENEH 10:15 AM · 2.5 ftL 7:19 PM · 0.4 ft
- South Channel62
Bay · 3.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 62
- Atlantic croaker 60
- Gray snapper 58
4 kt ENEH 10:15 AM · 2.5 ftL 7:19 PM · 0.4 ft
- The Kitchen58
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 58
- Atlantic croaker 57
- Common snook 57
4 kt ENEH 10:15 AM · 2.5 ftL 7:19 PM · 0.4 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.