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Red snapperClosedSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Red snapper
- Now
- 203 PM CST
- Best window
- 3-7 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Ward 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 3 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
93Wind: 8 kt EPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
86Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.7 ftSeason & habitat · Red snapper
Species seasonality
45Closed season · capped at 20Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Closed
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Red snapper(private recreational)
Closed- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- Aug 1, 2026 to Jan 4, 2027
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Retention open from Nov 7
- Other
- Closed between the 2026 open days. The fall season is daily September 1 through October 4, then weekends and holidays only through January 4, 2027. The 2027 season has not been announced.
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 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 grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- 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 snapper is best here
Shoulder season for Red snapper · 25 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Ward Cove
- Depth
- 4-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
- 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 Ward Cove
Ward Cove is a bay in Western Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 4-20 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 spotted seatrout. It is peak season now for red drum, Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for black drum, king mackerel, sheepshead and gray snapper. Red drum peak from September through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November.
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.
- 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 Bayou80
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 80
- Spotted seatrout 76
- Spanish mackerel 70
8 kt EL 7:41 PM · 0.3 ftH 6:53 AM · 0.6 ft
- Nelson Point73
Cape · 0.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Spotted seatrout 71
- Spanish mackerel 70
8 kt EL 7:41 PM · 0.3 ftH 6:53 AM · 0.6 ft
- John Bayou73
Bay · 1.0 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Spanish mackerel 65
- King mackerel 62
8 kt EL 7:41 PM · 0.3 ftH 6:53 AM · 0.6 ft
- Shirk Point66
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 66
- Spanish mackerel 65
- King mackerel 62
8 kt EL 7:41 PM · 0.3 ftH 6:53 AM · 0.6 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.