Florida Fish Seasons: Is It Open Where You Fish?
Is snook, red snapper, grouper or redfish open where you fish in Florida, today or on your dates? FWC’s season by region and coast, the size and the bag limit.
Yes: snook season is open in Tampa on October 4, 2026, and stays open to November 30, 2026 (57 days left). 28 to 33 inches total length (a slot), 1 a person a dayYou need the $10 snook permit on top of a saltwater fishing license, even from shore.
Every fish in Tampa on October 4, 2026
Snook in Tampa: the next 12 months
- Open · October 4 to November 30, 2026
- Closed · December 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027
- Open · March 1 to April 30, 2027
- Closed · May 1 to August 31, 2027
- Open · September 1 to October 4, 2027
FWC’s rules for snook here, in its own words
- “Closed Season: December 1 – end of February, and May 1 – August 31”
- “Slot Limit: Not less than 28” or more than 33” total length”
- “Bag Limit: One fish per person per day”
- “Allowable Gear: Hook and line only”
- “License Requirements: Snook permit and recreational fishing license.”
- “Must remain in whole condition until landed ashore.”
- “Regulations apply in all inland, state and adjacent federal waters.”
- FWC: Snook (read 2026-10-04)
- Do I need a Florida fishing license? (our free checker)
Seasons, sizes and limits from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s recreational regulation pages (read 2026-10-04); the Gulf–Atlantic line from rule 68B-14.002, Florida Administrative Code. Seasons FWC sets each year by executive order show as “not announced” past the last day it has published. Check FWC’s page before you keep a fish.
Quick answer: Florida sets snook, redfish and seatrout seasons by region, reef fish by coast. Gulf snook closes December 1 to the end of February and from May 1 through August or September; Atlantic snook December 15 to January 31 and June 1 to August 31. Red snapper and gag open only on days FWC announces. Pick your town and date.
How to use it
Pick where you fish (a town, grouped by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s nine management regions, or the Keys on either side of U.S. 1), the fish and the day (today is filled in). The answer says whether you may keep that fish there that day, the days left in the season or the day it opens, and the size and bag limit. Below it: every fish’s state at that place on that day (tap one to switch to it), the chosen fish’s open and closed stretches for the next 12 months, and FWC’s rules in its own words with links to its pages.
Why the place matters
FWC manages snook, redfish (red drum) and spotted seatrout in nine regions: the Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor and Southwest on the Gulf, and the Southeast, Indian River Lagoon and Northeast on the Atlantic. Their rules “apply in all inland, state and adjacent federal waters”. Reef fish follow the coast instead, and in the Keys the line between the Gulf and the Atlantic runs along U.S. Highway 1: rule 68B-14.002 draws it “along a line eastward to the terminus of U.S. Highway 1”. Two exceptions put the whole of the Keys on the Atlantic side: FWC’s Gulf grouper rules exclude “all state waters of Monroe County”, and its Atlantic hogfish rules include “all state and federal waters south of Cape Sable, including the Florida Keys”. State waters reach 9 miles out in the Gulf and 3 miles in the Atlantic.
Every season at a glance
| Fish | Where | Season | Size | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snook | Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay | Closed December 1 – end of February and May 1 – August 31 | 28 to 33 inches total length (a slot) | 1 a person a day |
| Snook | Charlotte Harbor, Southwest and the Keys | Closed December 1 – end of February and May 1 – September 30 | 28 to 33 inches total length (a slot) | 1 a person a day |
| Snook | Southeast, Indian River Lagoon, Northeast | Closed December 15 – January 31 and June 1 – August 31 | 28 to 32 inches total length (a slot) | 1 a person a day |
| Red snapper | Gulf, and the Keys north of U.S. 1 | Set each year by FWC: 148 open days in the 2026 season, May 22, 2026 to January 4, 2027 | 16 inches total length | 2 a person a day (within the 10-snapper limit) |
| Red snapper | Atlantic, and the Keys south of U.S. 1 | Set each year by FWC: 14 open days in the 2026 season, October 9 to 22, 2026 | no minimum size | 1 a person a day |
| Gag grouper | Gulf, outside Monroe County | Set each year by FWC: 30 open days in the 2026 season, September 1 to 30, 2026 | 24 inches total length | 2 a person a day (within the 4-grouper limit) |
| Gag grouper | Atlantic and all of the Keys | Set each year by FWC: 93 open days in the 2026 season, May 1 to August 1, 2026 | 24 inches total length | 1 gag or black grouper a person a day, 2 gag a boat |
| Red grouper | Gulf, outside Monroe County | Open all year | 20 inches total length | 2 a person a day (within the 4-grouper limit) |
| Red grouper | Atlantic and all of the Keys | Closed January 1 – April 30 | 20 inches total length | up to 3 a person a day (within the 3-grouper limit) |
| Black grouper | Gulf, outside Monroe County | Open all year | 24 inches total length | 4 a person a day (within the 4-grouper limit) |
| Black grouper | Atlantic and all of the Keys | Closed January 1 – April 30 | 24 inches total length | 1 gag or black grouper a person a day, 2 black a boat |
| Redfish (red drum) | Every region but the Indian River Lagoon | Open all year | 18 to 27 inches total length (a slot) | 1 a person a day, 2 a boat |
| Redfish (red drum) | Indian River Lagoon | Catch and release only | — | none kept |
| Spotted seatrout | Panhandle | Closed February 1 – end of February | 15 to 19 inches total length, one bigger fish allowed | 3 a person a day |
| Spotted seatrout | Indian River Lagoon | Closed November 1 – December 31 | 15 to 19 inches total length, none bigger | 2 a person a day |
| Spotted seatrout | Tampa Bay (most other regions alike) | Open all year | 15 to 19 inches total length, one bigger fish allowed | 3 a person a day |
| Flounder | All Florida waters | Closed October 15 – November 30 | 14 inches total length | 5 a person a day |
| Greater amberjack | Gulf, and the Keys north of U.S. 1 | Set each year by FWC: 43 open days in the 2026 season, September 1 to October 13, 2026 | 34 inches fork length | 1 a person a day |
| Greater amberjack | Atlantic, and the Keys south of U.S. 1 | Closed April 1 – April 30 | 28 inches fork length | 1 a person a day |
| Hogfish | Gulf, north of Cape Sable | Open all year | 14 inches fork length | 5 a person a day |
| Hogfish | Atlantic and all of the Keys | Closed November 1 – April 30 | 16 inches fork length | 1 a person a day |
| Gray triggerfish | Gulf, and the Keys north of U.S. 1 | Closed January 1 – end of February and June 1 – July 31 | 15 inches fork length | 1 a person a day |
| Gray triggerfish | Atlantic, and the Keys south of U.S. 1 | Open all year | 12 inches fork length | 10 a person a day |
| Cobia | Gulf and Atlantic | No closed season | 36 inches fork length | 1 a person a day, 2 a boat |
| Mahi-mahi (dolphinfish) | Gulf | No closed season | no minimum size | 10 a person a day, 60 a boat |
| Mahi-mahi (dolphinfish) | Atlantic | No closed season | 20 inches fork length | 5 a person a day, 30 a boat |
| Tarpon | All Florida waters | Catch and release only | — | none kept |
Red snapper, Gulf gag, Gulf greater amberjack and Atlantic gag are not fixed by the calendar: FWC announces each year’s days by executive order. The 2026 Gulf red snapper season ran daily from May 22 to July 31 and from September 1, then on set weekends and holidays to January 4, 2027; the Atlantic season was October 9 to 22. Past the last day FWC has published, the checker says “not announced” rather than guess.
Permits on top of the license
Snook needs the $10 snook permit on top of a saltwater fishing license, “including shoreline fishing”. From a private boat, red snapper, grouper, amberjack, hogfish and triggerfish need the free State Reef Fish Angler designation: “All anglers on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida who intend to fish for or harvest certain reef fish from a private vessel are required to obtain the State Reef Fish Angler designation, and renew annually.” Tarpon is catch and release only; a $51.50 tarpon tag lets one person keep one fish a year, and only “in pursuit of a Florida state or world record”. Whether you need the license itself, and which one, is what our Florida Fishing License Checker answers.
Worked examples
Snook in Tampa on October 4, 2026. Open, and stays open to November 30, 2026: 57 days left. One fish a person a day, 28 to 33 inches.
Red snapper off Jacksonville on October 4, 2026. Closed. The Atlantic season opens October 9, 2026, in 5 days, for 14 days.
Snook in Fort Myers on September 15, 2027. Closed: Charlotte Harbor’s summer closure runs to September 30. It opens October 1, 2027, in 16 days. On the same day in Miami it is open, to December 14, 2027.
Redfish in Melbourne. Catch and release only, every day: FWC lists the Indian River Lagoon region as “Catch-and-Release only.”
Gag grouper on the bay side of the Keys on October 4, 2026. Closed under the Atlantic rules, which cover all of Monroe County’s state waters; the 2026 season there ran May 1 to August 1, and FWC has not announced the next one.
Common mistakes
- Using the Gulf snook dates on the Atlantic coast. The Atlantic regions close December 15, not December 1, and open again September 1.
- Keeping a redfish in the Indian River Lagoon. The whole region is catch and release.
- Treating the Keys’ bay side as Gulf for grouper. FWC puts every state water of Monroe County under the Atlantic grouper rules.
- Planning a red snapper trip a year out. The Gulf and Atlantic seasons are announced each year, and the days change.
- Forgetting the slot. A snook over 33 inches (32 on the Atlantic) goes back, the same as one under 28.
- Buying the snook permit for a closed season. FWC: “Refunds will not be given even if the species you plan to target is closed to harvest.”
Plan the trip
Read why grouper is so popular in Florida, our guide to kayak fishing in the Florida Keys, Marathon or Islamorada, the animals to spot in the Keys and what fish live in the St. Johns River. The Florida Lobster Season and Florida Scallop Season checkers do the same for those two; for the tides, see Florida Tide Times.
FAQ
When is red snapper season in Florida?
FWC sets it each year. In the Gulf the 2026 season ran daily May 22 to July 31 and from September 1, then on set weekends and holidays to January 4, 2027, 148 days in all; in the Atlantic it was October 9 to 22, 2026. The limit is 2 a person in the Gulf (16 inches) and 1 in the Atlantic.
When is snook season in Florida?
On the Gulf coast snook is open March 1 to April 30 and from September 1 (October 1 in the Charlotte Harbor and Southwest regions) to November 30. On the Atlantic coast it is open February 1 to May 31 and September 1 to December 14. One fish a day, 28 to 33 inches on the Gulf, 28 to 32 on the Atlantic.
When is grouper season in Florida?
Red and black grouper are open all year in Gulf state waters (federal waters past 20 fathoms close February 1 to March 31) and May 1 to December 31 in the Atlantic and the Keys. Gag is set each year: September 1 to 30 in the Gulf in 2026, May 1 to August 1 in the Atlantic.
When is redfish season in Florida?
Open all year in every region but the Indian River Lagoon, which is catch and release only. The slot is 18 to 27 inches, one fish a person a day, with a boat limit of 2 (4 in the Panhandle, Big Bend and Northeast).
When is flounder season in Florida?
Open all year except October 15 to November 30, “Closed annually”, in state and federal waters on both coasts. The minimum size is 14 inches and the limit 5 a person a day.
When is tarpon season in Florida?
Tarpon may be caught all year, but “Tarpon is a catch-and-release only fishery”. A fish over 40 inches must stay in the water, unless you hold a $51.50 tarpon tag and are going for a state or world record.
When is hogfish season in Florida?
All year in Gulf state waters (14 inches, 5 a person). In the Atlantic and everywhere south of Cape Sable, the Keys included, it is open May 1 to October 31 (16 inches, 1 a person).