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Red snapperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker74
- Common snook72
- Atlantic tarpon63
- Gray snapper63
- Red drum63
- Florida pompano60
- Spanish mackerel57
- Southern flounder56
- Black drum54
- Permit54
- Crevalle jack53
- Spotted seatrout50
- King mackerel49
- Cobia48
- Red snapper45
- Gag grouper43
- Gray triggerfish42
- Red grouper41
- Greater amberjack40
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 7 PM · Red snapper
- Now
- 455 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- High2.0 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when New 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 5 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
37Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.7 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
66Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.6 ftSeason & habitat · Red snapper
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 snapper(private recreational)
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day (10 snapper combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 16 in, total length
- Season
- Sep 1 to Oct 4, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Oct 5
- Other
- Applies to private recreational vessels in Florida Gulf state and federal waters, and to for-hire vessels without a federal permit in Gulf state waters only. Charter captain and crew bag limit is zero. Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Counts toward the 10-snapper aggregate per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. FWC sets this 2026 Gulf private recreational season for both Gulf state waters and Gulf federal waters off Florida.
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 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 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 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 Red snapper is best here
Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
New Pass
- Depth
- 6-15 ftSlope
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · ProtectedPass · slope
- 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 New Pass
New Pass is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 6-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads pass, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and southern flounder. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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.
- 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
- Hamsen Bayou72
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 72
- Common snook 71
- Atlantic croaker 69
5 kt ENEH 7:44 AM · 2.1 ftL 3:50 PM · 0.3 ft
- Fishery Point72
Cape · 2.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Gray snapper 66
- Red drum 66
5 kt ENEH 8:34 AM · 2.0 ftL 5:01 PM · 0.3 ft
- Bay Point68
Cape · 2.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 68
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Red drum 60
5 kt ENEH 8:39 AM · 2.1 ftL 5:28 PM · 0.4 ft
- Quick Point65
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 65
- Common snook 64
- Gray snapper 58
5 kt ENEH 8:47 AM · 1.9 ftL 5:09 PM · 0.5 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.