Seeing Red (Snapper)

Offshore

Red snapper season started with a bang, and the fishing is as good as ever! It’s been a bountiful red snapper season for the last two and a half weeks, with plenty of the tasty red fish coming in to the docks on boat after boat. For the most part, the weather has been pretty cooperative, but there are those days where the wind kicks up and limits some of the boats from going offshore. On good days, though, most boats are returning with their limit of red snapper every day, catching them on bonita strips, squid, and Boston mackerel at the wrecks and reefs. Besides red snapper, we are seeing plenty of kingfish and vermillion snapper as well as some mahi.

Inshore

Inshore fishing has been phenomenal, yielding plenty of redfish and speckled trout. We had a customer last week who said it was “the best fishing trip EVER! The fish were jumping in the boat!” Definitely a lot of fun to be had inshore as well as offshore right now.

Forecast

Red snapper season closes in federal waters on June 29th but will remain open until July 15 in state waters, which extend up to 9 miles offshore, so if you’re coming after the close of federal season and you want to catch red snapper you will need to look for a boat that is not bound by federal regulations (we can help with this as it does get confusing). Amberjack season closes in the gulf on July 1st, but gag grouper opens on July 1st, so there will still be plenty of fish to catch!

As always, if you’d like to get in on the action, be sure to book a charter with one of our captains or, for the more experienced fishermen, try a fishing boat rental for the day. We also offer fishing pole and tackle rentals, and have bait and tackle for sale in our ship’s store. Contact us for more information!