Waterlands

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Red grouperRetention open

Bay · Florida

Champlain Bayou

27.54°N · 82.61°W · Bay · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 10 PM · Red grouper

77/100Great
Now
459 AM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
High2.2 ft

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: today · 77

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score45Good
Tide2.2 ftHigh
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind4 kn Egusts 8 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy48% cloud
Water86°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 yesterday

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

Champlain Bayou

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · 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 Champlain Bayou

Champlain Bayou is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, southern flounder, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September through November.

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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Snead Island Cutoff

    Channel · 0.9 mi

    78
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 78
    • Common snook 68
    • Gray snapper 62

    4 kt EL 4:54 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:17 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Clambar Bayou

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Common snook 63
    • Red drum 63

    4 kt EL 4:54 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:17 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Terra Ceia Bay

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Common snook 67
    • Florida pompano 63

    4 kt EL 4:54 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:17 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Gus Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Common snook 63
    • Florida pompano 58

    4 kt EL 4:54 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:17 AM · 1.8 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.