Gag grouper is the season that cannot be memorised. Florida sets it by executive order each year, the window has landed in April, June and September in different years, and the Gulf and the Atlantic run on separate clocks.
The dates
Open today by the rules below, worked out for 2026 rather than copied from a chart.
Gulf state waters, excluding Monroe County
Set by FWC executive order for 2026 to match the federal Gulf season, and harvest closes at 12:01 a.m. on October 1. This is a one-month window that has landed in April, June and September in different years: the date is not a habit, it is a decision taken each year.
- Limit
- Part of the 4-fish grouper aggregate.
Atlantic state waters and all state waters off Monroe County
Recreational gag harvest closed on August 2, 2026 by executive order and stays closed for the rest of the year. The Keys follow the Atlantic rule here even though they sit on the Gulf side, which is the trap in this regulation.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Legal dates were read on the agency’s own page on the date shown beside each entry. Seasons change: the agency link is always the last word.
Why Florida is different
For 2026 the FWC set the Gulf state-waters season at September 1 to September 30, closing at 12:01 a.m. on October 1, to line up with the federal season. The Atlantic went the other way: recreational gag harvest there closed on August 2, 2026 and stays closed for the rest of the year. The trap in that sentence is Monroe County — the Keys sit on the Gulf side but follow the Atlantic rule, so a boat running out of Marathon is under the closed regime while a boat out of Crystal River is not.
What to actually do
Before you plan a gag trip, check the executive orders page rather than any season chart, including this one. A date that was right last August is routinely wrong this August. Gag counts inside the four-fish grouper aggregate, and red grouper and black grouper each carry their own rules that the word "grouper season" hides.
Where to fish it
We publish a daily report for 33 Florida waters, each with live flow or tide.
- Lake Okeechobee — Palm Beach County
- Pensacola — Escambia County
- Destin — Okaloosa County
- Tampa Bay — Pinellas County
- Jacksonville — Duval County
- Lake Tohopekaliga — Osceola County
- Lake Istokpoga — Highlands County
- Navarre — Santa Rosa County
An open season is not permission to fish: Florida requires a licence from age 16, from $17.00 for residents. What it costs and where to buy it →
Questions
When is gag grouper season in Florida?
In 2026 the Gulf state-waters season ran September 1 to September 30, excluding Monroe County, and closed at 12:01 a.m. on October 1. Atlantic state waters and all waters off Monroe County closed to gag harvest on August 2, 2026.
Why does the gag grouper season keep changing?
Because the FWC resets it by executive order each year against the federal season and the stock assessment, rather than fixing it in rule. That is also why a printed chart goes out of date faster for gag than for almost any other fish in the state.
Checked by Pablo Ruiz Quintero. Dates move: tell us if this one has and the correction goes in the verification log with the date.