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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.

All coastsTexasLouisianaFloridaBahamasMexicoPuerto RicoSeychelles
Any typeFlySpinSightWadeSkiffRocksMarshSkinnyOffshore
Any fishRedfishSpeckled troutSouthern flounderBlack drumSheepsheadSnookTarponBonefishPermitJack crevalleMahi-mahiSailfishTuna (blackfin / yellowfin)HogfishYellowtail snapperMangrove / gray snapperMutton snapperRed snapperLane snapperGag grouperRed grouperBlack grouperCobiaFlorida pompanoTripletailKing mackerelSpanish mackerelGreater amberjackWahooBlue marlinWhite marlinStriped marlinSwordfishGreat barracudaRoosterfishGiant trevally
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

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.

May. Boca tarpon still the headline — then Gulf snook close May 1. Keys tarpon peak. Afternoon storms rewrite the flat.

May · peak

What is actually on

    RedfishSnookTarponBonefishPermitHogfishYellowtail snapperMangrove / gray snapperMutton snapperLane snapperGag grouperRed grouperBlack grouperCobiaFlorida pompanoTripletailKing mackerelSpanish mackerelGreater amberjack
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.

Hogfish

Lachnolaimus maximus

Peak MayFlorida

J

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

Thermal window

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66°90°

70–86°F · best 74–82°F

Keys and Caribbean patch reefs. Not a Texas bay fish. Not a bonefish headline. He lives on the hard bottom, not the grass.

Fly. 8–9 wt. A small crab or shrimp on the patch. He is a picker. Do not trout-set a hog.

Spin. The honest tool. Shrimp or a small jig on the reef. Spear is a different license.

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

Florida. Florida: Atlantic and Gulf bags differ. Monroe County is tighter. Fork-length minimum. Verify FWC.

Official source

Want this week’s weather on top of the doctrine? Read the Saturday Letter.