Doctrine · not a honey-hole list

Seasonal fundamentals

When a coast, a type of water, and a fish actually line up. If you elected Texas on the list, this page opens on Texas — Seychelles stays off the board until you ask for it. Filter by region, method or habitat, and species. The year bar is peak versus present. Limits cite TPWD and FWC — verify before you keep one.

Florida

Florida — two coasts, do not mix them

Keys oceanside is bones and permit. Backcountry is reds and snook. Boca is the pass. Jupiter is the inlet.

Biscayne is the north end of the grand-slam stage. Key Largo is the first Key — Card Sound, Garden Cove, Pennekamp as the launch, not a secret flat. Adjacent SPAs are no-take. Islamorada is the mecca — Channel 5, oceanside banks, wrecks for permit that have seen every crab. Flamingo is a different country: reds and snook, not oceanside bones. Marathon and Key West stretch it south. Then the mainland: Boca Grande Pass is the spring tarpon stack, Charlotte Harbor the snook and reds — Gulf rules, not Atlantic. Jupiter is inlet snook and a beach tarpon, clocked to Lake Worth Pier. Snook closures differ by FWC region. FKNMS polygons are Keys-only. Do not headline Jupiter with a bonefish.

February. Bones and permit if the front missed you. Tarpon are a rumor that becomes a fish in March. Boca snook still closed through the end of the month.

February · peak

What is actually on

Black drum

Sheepshead

Bonefish

Peak Present Off

Closures

SE Florida snook (Jupiter, Keys, Biscayne). Typically closed Dec 15–Jan 31 and June 1–Aug 31. Catch-and-release is still fishing. Do not harvest a snook because a desk scored an 8.
Charlotte Harbor / Boca Grande snook. Typically closed Dec 1–end of Feb and May 1–Sep 30. Gulf region, not Atlantic. Verify FWC.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

Present FebruaryFlorida

Thermal window

—

52–88°F · best 62–82°F

Texas and Louisiana main event. Tails in flooded grass, wakes on shell, winter schools on mud, bulls in the passes. Keys: backcountry only, not oceanside. Boca Harbor yes. Jupiter is a snook desk.

Fly. 8-weight. Crab or shrimp on bead-chain for tailers. Gold spoon when the wind wrecks the fly. 20 lb near oyster.

Spin. Weedless gold spoon, paddle, or soft plastic. Heavy spoon or big paddle for the fall jetty bulls.

Leads the brief on Flamingo, Boca Grande.

Florida. Florida SE: typically 18–27 in, 1/person, 2/vessel. Harvest banned in federal waters. Keys backcountry, not oceanside. Boca Harbor yes.

Official source

Black drum

Pogonias cromis

Peak FebruaryFlorida

Thermal window

—

50–84°F · best 55–72°F

Winter/early spring. Schools with reds on Galveston mud. Roots — look for puffs and a thicker, darker tail.

Fly. Crab/shrimp a size bigger than the red. 8 wt schoolies, 9–10 for shoulders. He will eat a fly that sits.

Spin. Crab, light jig, or dead shrimp. A 30-pounder in a channel is a day that does not allow the fly.

Florida. Florida: check FWC regional rules before you keep a drum.

Official source

Sheepshead

Archosargus probatocephalus

Peak FebruaryFlorida

Thermal window

—

52–80°F · best 55–70°F

Winter and early spring on jetty granite and pilings. Midday better than dawn. He faces the tide and picks.

Fly. 7–8 wt, short 16–20 lb leader, ugly small crab. You are putting food on a post, not presenting to a cruiser.

Spin. The honest tool. Light jig or fiddler, 15–20 fluoro, watch the line. The bite is a tick.

Florida. Florida: check FWC regional sheepshead rules.

Official source

Bonefish

Albula vulpes

Peak FebruaryFlorida

Thermal window

—

68–88°F · best 72–84°F

Absent in Texas. Keys: big, few, educated. Bahamas: the capital — winter singles, summer schools of 3–5 lb fish. Puerto Rico: east islands more than San Juan. Seychelles: Alphonse and Farquhar sand, not Mahé town water.

Fly. 8 wt. Gotcha, Crazy Charlie, shrimp. Long fluoro, soft landing. Bahamas will forgive more than Biscayne.

Spin. Possible with a tiny jig. The honest tool here is the fly.

Leads the brief on Biscayne, Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Key West.

Florida. Florida: catch-and-release only, hook-and-line only.

Official source

Permit

Trachinotus falcatus

Present FebruaryFlorida

Thermal window

—

70–88°F · best 74–84°F

None in Texas. Keys mecca — flats, banks, wrecks. Bahamas west sides May–Oct. Puerto Rico: east-island banks, not Condado. Seychelles 'permit' is often the Indo-Pacific fish (Trachinotus blochii) — same job, different ocean.

Fly. 9 wt, 10 in wind. Merkin / Del Brown / Raghead. Lead the tailer, let the crab sink, one slow twitch.

Spin. Often deadlier. Live crab, DOA crab, 20–30 fluoro. No apology.

Leads the brief on Biscayne, Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Key West.

Florida. Florida: hook-and-line. Special Permit Zone (Keys) is tighter than the rest of the state — typically C&R. Verify FWC.

Official source

Yellowtail snapper

Ocyurus chrysurus

Present FebruaryFlorida

Thermal window

—

70–86°F · best 74–82°F

Islamorada to Key West, then the Bahamas and the Spanish Virgins. Patch reefs and the first drop. Absent from Texas bays.

Fly. 7–8 wt. A small baitfish or shrimp on the edge of the chum. This is a boat on the reef, not a poling skiff.

Spin. Chum and a light fluorocarbon. The Keys live on this fish. Not a Galveston trout.

Leads the brief on Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Key West.

Florida. Florida: typically 12 in total length, inside the snapper aggregate. Verify FWC.

Official source

Florida pompano

Trachinotus carolinus

Present FebruaryFlorida

Thermal window

—

62–82°F · best 66–76°F

Surf and clean sand. Texas and Florida beaches in the cool months. Not a permit. Not a jack.

Fly. 8 wt. A small crab or Clouser in the wash. He wants sand, not grass.

Spin. Jig in the surf and on the first bar. The honest pompano tool is a pompano jig.

Leads the brief on Jupiter.

Florida. Florida: typically 6/day, 11 in fork. Verify FWC.

Official source

Great barracuda

Sphyraena barracuda

Present FebruaryFlorida

Thermal window

—

70–88°F · best 74–84°F

Flats and wrecks will find you. Keys, Bahamas, Yucatan, Puerto Rico. Noise. They do not own the headline.

Fly. 9 wt. A big needle. Fun. Not why you booked the week.

Spin. A tube lure if you came for him. Wire. Ciguatera is a real reason not to keep a big one.

Florida. Generally unregulated. Ciguatera risk rises with size. Do not keep a big one for the table.

Official source

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