01When is red snapper season in Florida?
Red snapper has two seasons in Florida, one for the Gulf and one for the Atlantic, and both are set again every year.
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When is grouper season in Florida?
It depends on which grouper and which coast, and the one with a short season is gag.
For 2026, gag in Gulf state waters, except off Monroe County, is open only from September 1 to 30, and it closes on October 1 for the rest of the year. On the Atlantic side, 2026 gag was open from May 1 and closed on August 2. Red grouper in Gulf state waters is open all year. In the Gulf a gag must be at least 24 inches and a red grouper 20 inches, with two of each per person inside a daily limit of four grouper, and the captain and crew on a charter keep no gag. Off the Keys, on both the Atlantic and Gulf sides, the shallow-water groupers, red, black and yellowfin among them, are closed from January 1 to April 30. Goliath grouper may not be kept at all without a permit from the wildlife commission's goliath harvest program. Anyone 16 or older fishing for grouper from a private boat needs the free State Reef Fish Angler designation as well as a saltwater license.
Where to go from here.
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02Where do you go deep sea fishing in Florida?
Where the charter fleets are. On the Panhandle, Destin in Okaloosa County has one of the largest charter fleets in the country because the hundred-fathom curve comes closer to shore there than anywhere else in the Gulf, with Panama City in Bay County and Pensacola in Escambia close behind for red snapper and grouper.
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03Do you need a fishing license in Florida?
Yes, unless you are exempt: Florida requires a freshwater or saltwater fishing license, or both, for anyone 16 or older.
Read the answer →Where this comes from.
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, groupers recreational regulations ↗ Read September 23, 2026
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, saltwater licenses and permits ↗ Read September 23, 2026
More questions like this.
Where is the largemouth bass fishing in Florida?
Largemouth bass are in fresh water across Florida, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission keeps its own list of notable bass water.
Where is the crappie fishing in Florida?
Crappie, known locally as speckled perch or specks, are fished mostly in the cooler months in Florida, though night fishing for them works all year.
Do you need a fishing license in Florida?
Yes, unless you are exempt: Florida requires a freshwater or saltwater fishing license, or both, for anyone 16 or older.
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