Free tool · FWC rules, dated
Pick a species and a coast. You get today’s open-or-closed status, the slot or minimum size, the bag limit, and the regional catches that actually get people ticketed — checked against FWC and stamped with the date it was checked.
Is it in season?
Twenty-two species, three coasts — Gulf, Atlantic, and the Keys where Monroe County differs. Every answer links to the FWC page it came from.
How to read the answer
The badge is the season status for today, computed from FWC’s published windows rather than typed in each morning. Size is the slot or minimum, total length unless the rule says fork length. Bag is per person per day unless it says vessel. The “Watch out” line is the part most anglers miss — the rule that changes by region, by vessel, or by the calendar inside the season.
One more layer matters: a species can be open in state waters and closed in federal waters on the same day. Gulf red snapper and gag grouper do this regularly. Past 9 nautical miles in the Gulf (3 on the Atlantic side) you are fishing federal rules, and this tool describes state waters.
The traps that actually catch people
- Redfish vessel limits. The bag limit is one fish per person, but the boat has its own cap and it differs by region: two per vessel in Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor and the Southwest; four in the Panhandle, Big Bend and Northeast — and the Indian River Lagoon is catch-and-release only.
- Nine seatrout regions. The 15–19″ slot is statewide; the bag limit is not. Big Bend anglers get five, the Indian River Lagoon gets two, most coasts get three, and the one fish over 19″ is per vessel.
- The snapper aggregate. Mangrove, yellowtail, mutton and the other aggregate species share a 10-fish total per person. Five mangrove and five yellowtail is a limit; five and six is a citation.
- Snook’s two slots. 28–33″ on the Gulf, 28–32″ on the Atlantic, and a snook permit on top of the licence either way.
Why the date matters
FWC changes rules by executive order, sometimes mid-season, and a tool that presents last month’s window as today’s fact will eventually cost someone a ticket. That is why every answer carries the date the rule was verified and a link to the FWC page. Treat this as the fast reference it is: if the date is more than a couple of months old, or you are about to keep something unusual, confirm it on MyFWC.com first. Spotted something wrong? Tell me and it gets fixed and re-dated the same week.
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Live tide charts for all ten coastal regions · Solunar bite times · What should I throw? · Pick the right setup · or head back to the tools hub.