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Homosassa Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Homosassa on Florida's Nature Coast: a spring-fed river and its Gulf flats in Citrus County, inside FWC's Big Bend region for redfish, seatrout and snook rules.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 9:16 PM
Air / High
77 / 78 F
Wind
NE 13 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8727277, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Homosassa offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 13 mph, steady pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 78. Tides: high 1:49 AM and 2:28 PM, low 8:39 AM and 9:16 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 78 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:07 AM-12:07 PM and 10:33 PM-12:33 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Spring and early summer put redfish on grass flats, shorelines and oyster bars; on the Gulf, fish below spawning age stay inside the bays (TPWD). Sight-cast to tailing and cruising fish or drift live shrimp under a popping cork.

Speckled troutExcellent

Spring brings seatrout back over shallow seagrass, and the spawning season (April to September in Louisiana and South Carolina) keeps them feeding. Popping corks with live shrimp, free-shrimping on the drift and casting to working birds are the main tools.

Tomorrow: Similar at 78 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Florida requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $17.00 for residents, and salt water needs its own licence here. What a Florida licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing redfish (red drum) here? Check the size and bag limits with FWC before you keep anything. The season dates for Florida, read off the agency, are on the Florida seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8727277 (Tuckers Island, Homosassa River). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH1:49 AM1.2 ft
LOW8:39 AM0.2 ft
HIGH2:28 PM1.5 ft
LOW9:16 PM0.3 ft
Sat
HIGH2:34 AM1.5 ft
LOW9:28 AM-0.0 ft
HIGH3:23 PM1.5 ft
LOW9:39 PM0.4 ft

Crystal River tide chart: the week and the month β†’

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp77 F
High / Low78 / 53 F
WindNE 13-18 mph
Pressure1017.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain5% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:36 / 18:52
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~78 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Homosassa this week

Today is the pick of the week on Homosassa, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:07 AM-12:07 PM and 10:33 PM-12:33 AM
Minor period
4:27 AM-5:27 AM
Sun
07:36 to 18:52
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 14 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Homosassa: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: late-summer and fall bull run; inshore all year

Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), called redfish across the South, is a bronze inshore drum with a black spot near the tail, fished on grass flats, oyster bars, marsh creeks and beaches from the Chesapeake around Florida to Texas. Spring and early summer put redfish on grass flats, shorelines and oyster bars; on the Gulf, fish below spawning age stay inside the bays (TPWD). Sight-cast to tailing and cruising fish or drift live shrimp under a popping cork.

Speckled trout illustration

Speckled trout

Shallow bays spring and summer; deeper water in winter

Speckled trout is the anglers' name for the spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), a spotted member of the drum family that lives in shallow bays and estuaries from the Chesapeake to Texas. Spring brings seatrout back over shallow seagrass, and the spawning season (April to September in Louisiana and South Carolina) keeps them feeding. Popping corks with live shrimp, free-shrimping on the drift and casting to working birds are the main tools.

When to come: the Homosassa calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Redfish (red drum)
Speckled trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 78 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~78 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Homosassa today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 80 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Florida requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Florida saltwater license. FWC Big Bend region (2026-27 rules on eRegulations, updated July 20, 2026): red drum 18-27 in., 1 per person, 4 per vessel; spotted seatrout 15-19 in., 5 per person, 1 over 19 in. per vessel; snook 28-33 in., 1 per person, open March-April and September-November, snook permit required. Tarpon over 40 inches stay in the water.

Access

Duncan J. MacRae Public Boat Ramp, 5300 S. Cherokee Way, Homosassa (Citrus County tourism bureau).

About this water

The spring-fed Homosassa River and its Gulf flats, Citrus County, Florida. Tides from NOAA 8727277, Tuckers Island, Homosassa River.

Fishing Homosassa: the full guide

A river born from springs

Florida DEP's 2018 basin plan describes the Homosassa Spring Group as numerous springs that are the source waters of the Homosassa River, one of Florida's Outstanding Florida Springs. DEP lists the group among the first-magnitude springs impaired by nitrate, and in 2018 adopted a basin management action plan covering southern Citrus and northern Hernando counties to restore them.

Big Bend rules for the inshore trio

Homosassa sits in FWC's Big Bend management region for red drum, spotted seatrout and snook. In the 2026-27 regulations, red drum must be 18 to 27 inches, 1 per harvester and no more than 4 per vessel; seatrout must be 15 to 19 inches, 5 per harvester, with one over 19 inches allowed per vessel (or per angler fishing from shore); and snook must be 28 to 33 inches, 1 per harvester, with the Big Bend season open in March and April and from September through November. A snook permit is required to keep snook when you need a saltwater license.

Tarpon

Tarpon in Florida are catch-and-release except for one fish a year kept with a harvest tag for a potential IGFA record. Any tarpon over 40 inches must stay in the water while you release it.

Launching

Citrus County's tourism bureau lists the Duncan J. MacRae Public Boat Ramp at 5300 S. Cherokee Way, at MacRae's of Homosassa, with access to the Homosassa River, its tributaries and the Gulf. Tide times on this page come from NOAA station 8727277, Tuckers Island on the Homosassa River.

Common questions

Is snook season open at Homosassa?

In FWC's Big Bend region snook may be kept in March and April and from September through November, one fish between 28 and 33 inches, with a snook permit.

What is the redfish limit at Homosassa?

Homosassa is in FWC's Big Bend region: one red drum between 18 and 27 inches per person, and no more than four per vessel.

Can I keep a tarpon?

Only with a tarpon harvest tag, one fish a year, kept for a potential IGFA record. Otherwise release it, and keep any tarpon over 40 inches in the water.

Is fishing good at Homosassa right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Lake Harris54 miClearwater55 miOrange Lake56 miTampa Bay70 miClearwater Lake70 miSteinhatchee75 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8727277 β€” Tuckers Island, Homosassa River
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 28.7717, -82.6950 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.