Waterlands

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Red snapperCheck regulations

Bar · Florida

Chester Shoal

28.59°N · 80.54°W · Bar · Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 PM · Red snapper

75/100Great
Now
4712 PM EDT
Best window
2 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Low0.9 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: Thu · 76

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score47Good
Tide0.9 ftLow
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SSE
Wind6 kn NNEgusts 14 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.2 ft · 8 s
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherOvercast53% chance of rain
Water83°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Red snapper

Check regulations

No limits are on file for this species here. FWC pages disagree. The snapper page lists Atlantic red snapper in state waters as open with a 20-inch minimum and 2 per person. The Atlantic red snapper season page says the 2026 season (May 22 to June 20 and three October weekends, 1 fish, no minimum size) is temporarily postponed, and Executive Order 26-16 rescinded the 2026 Atlantic red snapper order. Check with FWC before keeping one. Check with FWC before you keep one.

From FWC Atlantic Recreational Red Snapper State Management Season, 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 grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish 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 (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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Red snapper is best here

Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder

Red snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
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  • This week

Red snapper in Florida →

Spot profile

Chester Shoal

Depth
20-25 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · 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 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 common snook, Atlantic croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, Atlantic tarpon and king mackerel, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, Spanish mackerel and mahi-mahi. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

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.
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

View all on map →
  • Jack Davis Cut

    Channel · 4.4 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Common snook 67
    • Atlantic tarpon 67

    6 kt NNEH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ftL 12:20 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Pintail Creek

    Bay · 4.1 mi

    65
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Atlantic tarpon 65
    • Red drum 64

    6 kt NNEH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ftL 12:20 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Bluebill Creek

    Bay · 4.3 mi

    65
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Southern flounder 64
    • Spot 63

    6 kt NNEH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ftL 12:20 AM · 1.0 ft

  • False Cape

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    61
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 61
    • King mackerel 60
    • Atlantic croaker 59

    6 kt NNEH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ftL 12:20 AM · 1.0 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.