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Red snapperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook68
- Red drum68
- Atlantic croaker67
- Gray snapper64
- Atlantic tarpon63
- Southern flounder60
- Black drum58
- Permit58
- Crevalle jack56
- Gag grouper54
- Spanish mackerel53
- Spotted seatrout52
- Florida pompano50
- Gray triggerfish50
- Red grouper50
- Red snapper50
- King mackerel49
- Greater amberjack45
- Cobia43
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 6 PM · Red snapper
- Now
- 509 AM EDT
- Best window
- 4-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big Island Gap 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 · 9 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
63Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 4 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
69Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.2 ftSeason & habitat · Red snapper
Species seasonality
43Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Red snapper(private recreational)
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day (10 snapper combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 16 in, total length
- Season
- Sep 1 to Oct 4, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Oct 5
- Other
- Applies to private recreational vessels in Florida Gulf state and federal waters, and to for-hire vessels without a federal permit in Gulf state waters only. Charter captain and crew bag limit is zero. Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Counts toward the 10-snapper aggregate per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. FWC sets this 2026 Gulf private recreational season for both Gulf state waters and Gulf federal waters off Florida.
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 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 grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper 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 Red snapper is best here
Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Big Island Gap
- Depth
- 1-3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · 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 Big Island Gap
Big Island Gap is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, red drum and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, black drum and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- South Gandy Channel74
Channel · 3.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Common snook 72
- Gray snapper 70
3 kt EH 1:03 PM · 2.8 ftL 8:14 PM · 0.5 ft
- Old Tampa Bay69
Bay · 2.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 69
- Atlantic croaker 66
- Gray snapper 65
3 kt NEH 1:28 PM · 2.8 ftL 8:31 PM · 0.7 ft
- Cedar Point68
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Common snook 63
- Atlantic tarpon 61
4 kt ENEH 1:30 PM · 3.1 ftL 9:06 PM · 0.8 ft
- Cabbage Patch Point68
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Common snook 63
- Atlantic tarpon 61
4 kt ENEH 1:30 PM · 3.1 ftL 9:06 PM · 0.8 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.