Waterlands

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Red snapperClosed

Cape · Florida

Hooker Point

27.52°N · 82.60°W · Cape · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 6 PM · Red snapper

74/100Great
Now
2010 AM EST
Best window
4-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.1 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score20Poor
Tide1.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.1 kn · toward SSW
Wind10 kn Egusts 19 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherOvercast90% chance of rain
Water76°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Red snapper(private recreational)

Closed
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Aug 1, 2026 to Jan 4, 2027
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Retention open from Nov 7
Other
Closed between the 2026 open days. The fall season is daily September 1 through October 4, then weekends and holidays only through January 4, 2027. The 2027 season has not been announced.

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 Closed (No retention)
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
  • 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 Closed (No retention)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
  • 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 · 25 more weeks at shoulder

Red snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red snapper · 25 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red snapper in Florida →

Spot profile

Hooker Point

Depth
3-10 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Hooker Point

Hooker Point is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 3-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, common snook and red drum. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, red drum, spotted seatrout and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, black drum and gray triggerfish. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September through November.

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.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
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

  • Snead Island Cutoff

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    72
    Top: Common snookShoulder season
    • Common snook 72
    • Spotted seatrout 72
    • Red drum 70

    10 kt EL 1:32 PM · 0.2 ftH 9:17 PM · 1.7 ft

  • Champlain Bayou

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    72
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 72
    • Spotted seatrout 71
    • Spanish mackerel 67

    10 kt EL 1:32 PM · 0.2 ftH 9:17 PM · 1.7 ft

  • Clambar Bayou

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    72
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 72
    • Spotted seatrout 71
    • Spanish mackerel 68

    10 kt EL 1:32 PM · 0.2 ftH 9:17 PM · 1.7 ft

  • Bishop Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    69
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 69
    • Spotted seatrout 68
    • Common snook 67

    7 kt EL 1:32 PM · 0.2 ftH 9:17 PM · 1.7 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.