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Gag grouperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook77
- Atlantic tarpon74
- Red drum74
- Atlantic croaker72
- Gray snapper72
- Southern flounder67
- Permit64
- Crevalle jack63
- Black drum62
- Spanish mackerel62
- Spotted seatrout59
- Florida pompano58
- Cobia56
- Gag grouper56
- King mackerel56
- Red snapper56
- Gray triggerfish53
- Red grouper53
- Greater amberjack51
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 6 PM · Gag grouper
- Now
- 5612 AM EDT
- Best window
- 3-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Christmas Pass 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
Friday, Oct 2 · 9 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.6 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt SSEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
49Water temp: 85°F, hotLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Gag grouper
Species seasonality
62Closed season · capped at 20Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Gag grouper
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 24 in, total length
- Season
- Sep 1 to Sep 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Oct 1
- Other
- Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Charter captain and crew bag limit is zero. No more than 4 grouper combined per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. FWC set the 2026 Gulf state waters gag season to September 1 through 30 by executive order, matching the federal season. Excludes Monroe County.
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)
- 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))
- 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 Gag grouper is best here
Shoulder season for Gag grouper · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Christmas Pass
- Depth
- 1-3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · ProtectedPass · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonGag 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 Christmas Pass
Christmas Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, permit and crevalle jack. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July. Red drum peak from September through November.
Tackle & technique
- Gag grouper
- Gag hold on ledges, rock piles and wrecks, from 15 to 40 feet in the fall on Florida's Gulf coast out to 250 feet the rest of the year. Troll deep-diving plugs to find productive rocks, then anchor and drop or freeline live pinfish or pigfish on a strong circle hook. Keep the drag tight and turn the fish in the first few seconds or it will reach the rocks.
- 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 tarpon
- Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Papys Point74
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 74
- Atlantic tarpon 70
- Common snook 69
4 kt ESEH 2:16 AM · 2.2 ftL 7:03 AM · 1.4 ft
- Riviera Bay74
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 74
- Gray snapper 71
- Red drum 70
4 kt ESEH 2:16 AM · 2.2 ftL 7:03 AM · 1.4 ft
- Bayou Grande73
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 73
- Gray snapper 71
- Red drum 70
4 kt ESEH 2:16 AM · 2.2 ftL 7:03 AM · 1.4 ft
- Mermaid Point69
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 69
- Gray snapper 66
- Red drum 65
4 kt ESEH 2:16 AM · 2.2 ftL 7:03 AM · 1.4 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.