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Red grouperRetention openBar · Florida
Chester Shoal
28.59°N · 80.54°W · Bar · Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker74
- Common snook74
- King mackerel73
- Atlantic tarpon72
- Spot72
- Crevalle jack71
- Summer flounder70
- Gray snapper68
- Red drum68
- Spanish mackerel67
- Black drum66
- Southern flounder66
- Black sea bass62
- Gray triggerfish62
- Red snapper61
- Little tunny60
- Red grouper60
- Spotted seatrout60
- Cobia58
- Florida pompano57
- Sheepshead57
- Weakfish56
- Greater amberjack55
- Mahi-mahi54
- Wahoo53
- Bluefish35
- Sailfish35
- Yellowfin tuna35
- Gag grouper20
Best score today · 8 PM · Red grouper
- Now
- 609 AM EDT
- Best window
- 2 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.2 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Chester Shoal 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 · 9 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 5 kt NPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
74Water temp: 83°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.2 ftSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
47Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
Red grouper
Retention open- Daily limit
- 3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 20 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Jan 1
- Other
- Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. No more than 3 grouper and tilefish combined per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Open May 1 through December 31. Closed January 1 through April 30.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Groupers, read Sep 13
Other species here
- Atlantic croaker Retention open (50 per day)
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (3 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 (10 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Catch & release (No retention)
- Red snapper Check regulations
- 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 (50 per day)
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (2 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 grouper is best here
Shoulder season for Red grouper · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Chester Shoal
- Depth
- 20-25 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · flat bottom
- 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 Chester Shoal
Chester Shoal is a bar in Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 20-25 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and king mackerel. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, king mackerel and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, black drum, black sea bass and gray triggerfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October.
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.
- 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
- Jack Davis Cut82
Channel · 4.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 82
- Common snook 79
- Atlantic tarpon 79
5 kt NL 11:57 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ft
- Pintail Creek79
Bay · 4.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 79
- Spot 77
- Crevalle jack 76
5 kt NL 11:57 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ft
- Bluebill Creek79
Bay · 4.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 79
- Spot 77
- Crevalle jack 76
5 kt NL 11:57 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ft
- False Cape74
Cape · 2.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 74
- Atlantic croaker 73
- King mackerel 72
5 kt NL 11:57 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:07 PM · 4.1 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.