UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Gray snapperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Gray snapper
- Now
- 5512 PM CST
- Best window
- 2-6 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hand Cove 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
Friday, Nov 13 · 6 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
95Wind: 9 kt EPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
81Water temp: 73°F, coolLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Gray snapper
Species seasonality
60Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Gray snapper
Retention open- Daily limit
- 5 per day (10 snapper combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 10 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Open year-round in Gulf and Atlantic state waters. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Counts toward the 10-snapper aggregate per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Federal waters have a 12-inch minimum and a 10-fish bag.
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 Closed (No retention)
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- 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 Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Gray snapper is best here
Shoulder season for Gray snapper · 4 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Hand Cove
- Depth
- 6-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
- Season
- Shoulder seasonGray 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 Hand Cove
Hand Cove is a bay in Western Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 6-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, Spanish mackerel and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for red drum, Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for king mackerel, sheepshead, gray triggerfish and red grouper. Red drum peak from September through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Poquito Bayou68
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Spanish mackerel 61
- King mackerel 58
8 kt EL 6:31 PM · 0.1 ftH 8:58 AM · 0.4 ft
- Garmier Bayou68
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Spanish mackerel 61
- King mackerel 58
8 kt EL 6:31 PM · 0.1 ftH 8:58 AM · 0.4 ft
- Dons Bayou68
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Spanish mackerel 61
- King mackerel 58
8 kt EL 6:31 PM · 0.1 ftH 8:58 AM · 0.4 ft
- Paradise Point61
Cape · 0.3 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 61
- Spanish mackerel 61
- King mackerel 58
8 kt EL 6:31 PM · 0.1 ftH 8:58 AM · 0.4 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.