It's Snapper Season!

Florida’s sixty-one-day private recreational Gulf Red Snapper Season opened Saturday, June 1, 2024, and runs consecutively through July 31, 2024.

The season will reopen in the fall for 3-day weekends (Friday – Sunday) from Sept. 1 – Nov. 30.
Florida’s Panhandle offers superb fishing opportunities. From Perdido Key and Pensacola to Fort Walton Beach, Destin and Panama City, the Northwest region of Florida is abundant with Red Snapper. Each of these coastal cities has multiple professional charter operators who specialize in catching Red Snapper. Be sure to book your fishing charters well in advance of your fishing trip or vacation.

The daily bag limit of Red Snapper is two keepers per person. As for the length, your Red Snapper catch has to be at least 16 inches long. 

Red snappers are generally found at 30 to 620 feet deep in the water.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration larval red snapper swim freely within the water column while juveniles live in shallow waters over sandy or muddy bottom habitat.
Adult snappers, experts explain they live on the bottom, usually near hard structures on the continental shelf that have moderate to high relief (such as coral reefs, artificial reefs, rocks, ledges, and caves), sloping soft-bottom areas, and limestone deposits.

Red snapper can be grilled, broiled, pan-fried, steamed, baked or deep fried. It is considered one of the most delicious catches in Florida!

*Picture credit Reel Fun Charters.