Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Red grouperRetention open

Bay · Florida

Buttonwood Harbor

27.38°N · 82.63°W · Bay · Tampa Bay waters

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 PM · Red grouper

81/100Great
Now
577 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.8 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

Notify me when Buttonwood Harbor scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Sun · 84

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score57Good
Tide0.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.9 kn · toward NE
Wind3 kn Egusts 9 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherClear88% chance of rain
Water87°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Red grouper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red grouper · 27 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red grouper in Florida →

Spot profile

Buttonwood Harbor

Depth
1-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Buttonwood Harbor

Buttonwood Harbor is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-7 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, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for crevalle jack, Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. 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.
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.
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

View all on map →
  • Millar Bay

    Bay · 3.7 mi

    79
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 79
    • Gray snapper 75
    • Red drum 74

    3 kt EH 11:52 PM · 1.9 ftL 5:00 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Long Bar Point

    Cape · 3.2 mi

    78
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 78
    • Common snook 74
    • Atlantic tarpon 73

    3 kt EH 12:11 AM · 1.8 ftL 4:54 AM · 2.0 ft

  • Sarasota Bay

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    77
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 77
    • Gray snapper 75
    • Red drum 73

    3 kt EH 12:11 AM · 1.8 ftL 4:54 AM · 2.0 ft

  • Cranes Bayou

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    75
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 75
    • Common snook 72
    • Atlantic croaker 70

    3 kt EH 12:22 AM · 1.6 ftL 5:08 AM · 1.6 ft

Open in the tide map

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.