Waterlands

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Gag grouperRetention open

Bar · Florida

Mullet Key Shoal

27.62°N · 82.69°W · Bar · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 8 AM · Gag grouper

70/100Great
Now
628 AM EDT
Best window
8 AM-1 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.6 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: Wed · 81

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score62Good
Tide1.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.3 kn · toward ENE
Wind4 kn ESEgusts 6 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherOvercast87% cloud
Water87°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Gag grouper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Gag grouper · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
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Gag grouper in Florida →

Spot profile

Mullet Key Shoal

Depth
15-25 ftSlope
Structure
Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · slope
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 Mullet Key Shoal

Mullet Key Shoal is a bar in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 15-25 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.

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 Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon and black drum. 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

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.
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 →
  • Mullet Key Channel

    Channel · 1.0 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Common snook 73
    • Gray snapper 73

    4 kt ESEH 10:36 AM · 2.0 ftL 5:29 PM · 0.2 ft

  • Mullet Key Bayou

    Bay · 2.3 mi

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

    4 kt ENEH 10:36 AM · 2.0 ftL 5:29 PM · 0.2 ft

  • Soldier Hole

    Bay · 2.7 mi

    74
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 74
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Gray snapper 72

    4 kt ESEH 10:36 AM · 2.0 ftL 5:29 PM · 0.2 ft

  • De Soto Point

    Cape · 2.7 mi

    69
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 69
    • Gray snapper 68
    • Atlantic croaker 67

    4 kt ESEH 10:36 AM · 2.0 ftL 5:29 PM · 0.2 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.