Red snapper are big and abundant on the Gulf Coast this year, and some anglers even catch them from kayaks. (AFTCO)
Years of grousing about red snapper seasons in the Gulf of Mexico by Florida anglers appear to be at an end after an announcement earlier this week that the season this year would extend a record 126 days.
The length of the season is a big deal in Florida, as well as other Gulf states, because so many anglers head to the coast with their families to enjoy the fast fishing of these great-eating reef fish. It represents an economic boom for coastal towns, motels, marinas, restaurants and of course charter boats and party boats, as well as giving skilled individual anglers a great chance to catch whopper snapper—sometimes within kayaking distance of the beach.
The 2025 Gulf Red Snapper season will begin Memorial Day Weekend and include weekends through December, with major holiday periods open for fishing.
The season is not continuous, however. The season will open Memorial Day weekend (May 24-26), then close to reopen June 1 and continue through July 31. It’s closed in August. For the fall, the season will be open from September 1-14, then switch to 3–day weekends (Friday – Sunday) for the remainder of the year with special holiday opportunities on Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The FWC said they will consider adding more fishing days if weather closures affect the season.
The seasons apply to those fishing from private recreational vessels and charter boats. Commercial harvesters have different seasons and regulations.
Governor Ron De Santis said the record season is the result of “data-driven management of the fishery by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.”
The State Reef Fish Survey (SRFS), which collects data from anglers, allows for more accurate assessment of the red snapper population and in this case allowed the state to offer a longer fishing season without any long term harm to the red snapper population.
FWC says the booming fish numbers in the Gulf have resulted from tight bag limits, strict enforcement of size limits and limited season lengths in prior years. A new way of estimating fish stocks also plays in the decision.
Many reef fish anglers have claimed for some time that red snapper were being grossly under reported by federal fishery managers, unnecessarily restricting the catch. In some areas, snapper were so abundant that catching other species for which the season was open, including gag and red grouper, was difficult because the snapper always beat them to the bait.
Because they’re usually easy to catch, red snapper are a great target for young anglers. (Frank Sargeant)
Red snapper are typically found 10 miles and further off the west coast of Florida, but in the panhandle they sometimes show up on artificial reefs within a mile or two of the beach, allowing small boats and even skilled kayakers to get at them in calm weather.
The legal-sized fish average 3 or 4 pounds, with 10 pounders not rare, 15-pounders possible. The minimum size is 16 inches, and the bag limit is two per person per day. They are considered to be among the best table fish in the sea.
Small snapper typically grab live shrimp as well as squid and cut fish. The larger fish are often caught on live baitfish including pinfish and scaled sardines. Whatever the bait, any boat that stops on a snapper school can expect to limit out quickly in the Gulf these days. Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana have also shown improving red snapper numbers and longer seasons.
Alabama is also expecting a bumper crop of red snapper this year, and will get an extended season as a result. (David Rainer, Alabama DCNR
Unfortunately, the situation is not the same on the Atlantic shore of Florida, or in other southeastern states on the Atlantic side, where snapper numbers are perilously low and seasons are all but non-existent for the time being. Florida’s Atlantic coast had one open day, July 12, last year!
— Frank Sargeant
Frankmako1@gmail.com
