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Gag grouperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook73
- Atlantic croaker71
- Atlantic tarpon69
- Gray snapper68
- Red drum67
- Permit61
- Black drum60
- Crevalle jack59
- Southern flounder59
- Gag grouper56
- Spanish mackerel56
- Spotted seatrout54
- Red snapper53
- Gray triggerfish52
- Red grouper52
- Florida pompano51
- King mackerel51
- Greater amberjack48
- Cobia45
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Gag grouper
- Now
- 567 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Snead Island Cutoff 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 · 7 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
76Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 3 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
69Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Gag grouper
Species seasonality
53Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
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 today
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
Snead Island Cutoff
- Depth
- 3-7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · 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 Snead Island Cutoff
Snead Island Cutoff is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, black drum and crevalle jack. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Champlain Bayou69
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 69
- Common snook 68
- Atlantic croaker 67
3 kt EH 12:25 AM · 1.8 ftL 4:53 AM · 1.3 ft
- Clambar Bayou69
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 69
- Common snook 68
- Atlantic croaker 67
3 kt EH 12:25 AM · 1.8 ftL 4:53 AM · 1.3 ft
- Gus Point68
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 68
- Gray snapper 63
- Atlantic croaker 62
3 kt EH 12:25 AM · 1.8 ftL 4:53 AM · 1.3 ft
- Hooker Point65
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 65
- Gray snapper 59
- Red drum 59
3 kt EH 12:28 AM · 1.9 ftL 5:30 AM · 1.3 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.