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Red snapper has two seasons in Florida, one for the Gulf and one for the Atlantic, and both are set again every year.
The 2026 Gulf season, in state and federal waters, is 140 days: every day from May 22 to July 31 and from September 1 to October 4, then three-day weekends in October, two-day weekends in November, November 26 to 29, December 25 to 27, and January 1 to 4, 2027. The Gulf limit is two fish per person, at least 16 inches long. On the Atlantic side Florida now runs the season itself, with federal approval, and its 2026 Atlantic season is October 9 to 22, in state and federal waters: one fish per person, no minimum size, and every trip declared through the wildlife commission's Atlantic red snapper reporting system. Anyone 16 or older fishing for reef fish such as red snapper from a private boat needs the free State Reef Fish Angler designation as well as a saltwater license. The Gulf charter fleets out of Pensacola, Destin and Panama City are where most visitors go after them.
Escambia County. The Santa Rosa Island Authority runs this shore and puts lifeguards on four parts of it: Casino Beach, Park East, the Fort Pickens Gate park and Quietwater Beach. Full-time cover runs June through August, with weekends from the middle of April through September, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Open the guide →Okaloosa County. The Destin Harbor Boardwalk runs along Destin Harbor past more than 100 boat slips, restaurants and shops, beginning at HarborWalk Village by the bridge. It was finished in 2012 by the property owners along the harbor, who paved and lit it as one continuous walk.
Open the guide →Bay County. Bay County's main shore, and the rules here are worth knowing before you arrive. A red flag means rip currents are strong enough to be dangerous; double red means the Gulf is closed to swimming altogether, and that one is enforced.
Open the guide →It depends on which grouper and which coast, and the one with a short season is gag.
Read the answer →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.
Read the answer →Yes, unless you are exempt: Florida requires a freshwater or saltwater fishing license, or both, for anyone 16 or older.
Read the answer →It depends on which grouper and which coast, and the one with a short season is gag.
Largemouth bass are in fresh water across Florida, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission keeps its own list of notable bass water.
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.
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