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Red grouperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum58
- Southern flounder55
- Atlantic croaker54
- Common snook53
- Atlantic tarpon50
- Gray snapper49
- Permit47
- Crevalle jack46
- Gag grouper46
- Spanish mackerel44
- Black drum43
- Gray triggerfish43
- Red grouper43
- Red snapper42
- Spotted seatrout42
- Cobia41
- Greater amberjack40
- King mackerel40
- Florida pompano39
- Sheepshead32
Best score today · 8 PM · Red grouper
- Now
- 434 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hamsen Bayou 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 · 4 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
47Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.6 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
90Wind: 2 kt SPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
54Water temp: 89°F, hotLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.6 ftSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
45Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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)
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
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Hamsen Bayou
- Depth
- 1-15 ftSlope
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · slope
- 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 Hamsen Bayou
Hamsen Bayou is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, southern flounder and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker, common snook and gray snapper, and shoulder season for southern flounder, Atlantic tarpon, permit and crevalle jack. Red drum peak from September through November. Southern flounder peak from October through November. 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.
- 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.
- Southern flounder
- Flounder lie half buried on soft bottom along marsh edges, creek mouths, dock pilings and the sandy sides of passes, usually in 1 to 15 feet of water. Drag a mud minnow or finger mullet on a Carolina rig, or bump a soft plastic slowly along the bottom, and give the fish a few seconds before setting the hook. In fall the adults stack up at passes and jetties on their way offshore, and many anglers gig them at night in knee-deep water.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Big Sarasota Pass62
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 62
- Atlantic tarpon 60
- Atlantic croaker 58
2 kt SH 11:01 PM · 1.7 ftL 3:44 AM · 1.2 ft
- Fishery Point60
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 60
- Atlantic croaker 59
- Gray snapper 59
2 kt SL 5:39 PM · 0.4 ftH 12:09 AM · 1.7 ft
- South Coconut Bayou59
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 59
- Atlantic croaker 55
- Southern flounder 55
2 kt SH 11:01 PM · 1.7 ftL 3:44 AM · 1.2 ft
- Coconut Bayou58
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 58
- Southern flounder 55
- Atlantic croaker 54
2 kt SH 11:01 PM · 1.7 ftL 3:44 AM · 1.2 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.