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Red grouperRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Red grouper
- Now
- 554 PM CST
- Best window
- 4-7 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Nelson Point 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
Tuesday, Nov 10 · 5 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
93Tide: FloodingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 3 kt WSWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
85Water temp: 73°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
46Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Red grouper
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 20 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Charter captain and crew bag limit is zero in state waters. No more than 4 grouper combined per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Open year-round in Gulf state waters. Federal waters close February 1 through March 31 seaward of 20 fathoms.
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)
- Gag grouper Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- 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 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Red grouper is best here
Shoulder season for Red grouper · 21 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Nelson Point
- Depth
- 10-20 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Nelson Point
Nelson Point is a cape in Western Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 10-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, Spanish mackerel and king mackerel. It is peak season now for red drum, Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for king mackerel, gray triggerfish, red grouper and sheepshead. Red drum peak from September through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. King mackerel peak in May and in 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.
- 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
- Rocky Bayou73
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Spanish mackerel 65
- King mackerel 60
7 kt ESEL 8:36 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:09 AM · 0.5 ft
- Ward Cove70
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 70
- Spanish mackerel 69
- Florida pompano 62
7 kt ESEL 8:36 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:09 AM · 0.5 ft
- Shirk Bayou62
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 62
- King mackerel 58
- Gray triggerfish 55
7 kt ESEL 7:39 PM · 0.3 ftH 8:07 AM · 0.6 ft
- John Bayou59
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 59
- King mackerel 54
- Florida pompano 52
7 kt ESEL 8:36 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:09 AM · 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.