The Keys, Biscayne Bay, the Everglades backcountry and the lagoons and bays of both coasts, by species and season, with the seagrass flats, public boat ramps and kayak launches, pole/troll and no-motor zones, and the next tides at each water.
Check before you fish. Zones, ramps and seasons here come from Florida's agencies and the national parks and sanctuary, and can be out of date. Posted markers, park rules and closures come first. Size, bag and season limits are in the FWC saltwater fishing regulations, and you need a saltwater fishing license.
Public land is shoreline context. Zones come from the national park and sanctuary maps; posted buoys and the agency rules decide.
Water types · Florida
Waters are named bays, lagoons and sounds, or, where the flats have no single name (the Keys, the Nature Coast), the tidal water along that stretch of coast. They are colored as flats (clear water, sight fishing for bonefish, permit and tarpon), bays & lagoons (grass flats and shorelines for redfish, snook and seatrout) and backcountry (mangrove bays and creeks). Each lists its main species and their usual season. The season is a general pattern, not a forecast: cold fronts and water temperature move it.
Seagrass & tidal flats are the state's mapped seagrass beds and tidal flats, the habitat most sight fishing happens on. Pole/troll and no-motor zones come from Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: inside them, pole, paddle or use a trolling motor. Closed to fishing shows sanctuary preservation areas, reserves and closed park zones. Other closures, such as wildlife refuge and manatee zones, aren't all on the map: follow posted markers.
Ramps and launches are open, public sites on salt or brackish water from the FWC boat ramp inventory; hand-launch sites are shown as kayak and canoe launches. Tide stations are NOAA prediction stations; each water's details show the next highs and lows at the station nearest the spot you picked.
Water below the mean high-water line is state-owned and open to fishing, but the land around it may not be. Get to the water from a ramp, a launch or public shore. Florida's size, bag and closed-season rules are set by species: see the FWC saltwater regulations. Asaltwater fishing license is required. National parks and refuges add their own rules.
For guides, rates and the best months in the Keys, see Florida Keys.
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