Open season is here for popular Gulf species, but anglers still have questions
For the first time in many years, the big four offshore species will be filling fish boxes at the same time for recreational anglers.
But for how long is still to be determined.
While normally open during summer months, red snapper season returns Monday, Sept. 1, after closing August recreationally. It will remain open until Sept. 14 and then be open Fridays through Sundays for the rest of 2025.
After facing early-season closures in recent years, red grouper will remain open for the remainder of the year. This is a welcome sight as they often occupy the same bottoms as red snapper, so being able to once again target both will make anglers happy.
Now the most restricted species of those targeted in our region, gag grouper will open again for a very short season in 2025. This has anglers most excited, and for good reason, as many are seeing them come up as bycatch across the Gulf.
While short, opening Sept. 1 and closing Sept. 15, it will have anglers fishing their favorite gag grouper lairs for the hard pulling bottom fish.
The last of the big four isn’t quite as exciting for most anglers. It is also still not clear what is happening with their season.
Right now, greater amberjack are set to open on Sept. 1 and close Oct. 31, giving two months to keep a fish over 34-inch fork length. But the Gulf Council expects changes to be made to this season and shorten it if there is one.
“Landings data from last year show that recreational harvest exceeded the annual catch limit,” the council said in a social media post. “Under existing accountability measures, the overage would automatically trigger a reduction in this year’s annual catch limit and annual catch target, resulting in the season being closed. To date, no formal announcement on the 2025 fishing season has been made by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Department of Commerce.”
On Friday, the council announced that the amberjack — keyword commercial — season would close Sept. 2. Amberjack recreationally should open Monday, but for how long is still up in the air. The fact that a season could close with little to no announcement is concerning for anglers.
But amberjack won’t be the focus of the first two weeks in September. Most anglers will be trying to catch gag grouper. Inshore captains will be chasing them around Tampa Bay, and offshore anglers will be heading deep where big gag grouper have been frequently caught during the summer red snapper season.
The big question mark for anglers will be the weather and the conditions. Gag grouper around Tampa Bay is much better in colder months when they tend to be more aggressive. They can often be lazy in the heat.
Offshore anglers will be hoping for calm weather to make long runs to get to bigger fish. In an attempt to catch gag grouper in deeper water, most will no doubt also find red grouper and red snapper.
It’s a big relief for anglers to finally be able to catch all three, or four with amberjack, so those heading offshore will need to keep their fillet knives sharpened and ready over the next few weeks.