Speckled Trout Slot Limit Florida
Official 2020 Florida Saltwater Fishing rules & regulations. License & permit information, season dates, size & creel limits and more. The bag limit is now six fish per person per day with a slot limit of 15 to 22 inches with an exception that anglers are allowed to keep one fish per day that is larger than 22 inches. The new regulations are designed to protect the larger females during the long spawning season from May through September.
At its December meeting in Panama City Beach, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved rule changes for spotted seatrout. Changes will go into effect Feb. 1, 2020. These changes DO NOT replace the SW Florida red-tide-related closures listed below.
Monroe County Florida Keys will follow the South Florida guidelines.
Size limit statewide starting Feb. 1, 2020: More than 15″ and less than 19″ total length (may possess one over 19 inches per vessel included in bag limit)
Regional daily bag limits and seasons starting Feb. 1, 2020: South: 3 per harvester, open year-round. Zero captain and crew bag limit when on a for-hire trip.
Allowable Gear: Hook and line; cast net
SW FLORIDA
Spotted seatrout is catch-and-release only in state or federal waters from the Hernando/Pasco county line south to Gordon Pass in Collier County through May 31, 2020.
SW Florida Catch-and-Release Measures
Spotted seatrout is catch-and-release only in state and federal waters from the Hernando/Pasco county line south to Gordon Pass in Collier County through May 31, 2020.
This is a proactive change to conserve spotted seatrout impacted by the prolonged red tide in southwest Florida. While these species need additional time to recover, the red tide that was impacting southwest Florida has subsided.
These catch-and-release measures remain in effect through May 31, 2020, and are not replaced by the statewide regulations changes that go into effect Feb. 1, 2020.
Management Zones starting Feb. 1, 2020
Regulations extend into federal waters.
- Western Panhandle: Escambia County through the portions of Gulf County west of longitude 85 degrees, 13.76 minutes but NOT including Indian Pass/Indian Lagoon.
- Big Bend: Remaining portion of Gulf County plus Indian Lagoon, and Franklin County through Fred Howard Park Causeway in Pinellas County near the Pasco County line.
- South: Fred Howard Park Causeway in Pinellas County near the Pasco County line through Broward County.
- Central East: Palm Beach through Volusia counties.
- Northeast: Flagler through Nassau counties.
Size limit statewide starting Feb. 1, 2020:
Speckled Trout Slot Limit Florida Keys
More than 15″ and less than 19″ total length (may possess one over 19 inches per vessel included in bag limit)
Regional daily bag limits and seasons starting Feb. 1, 2020:
- Western Panhandle: 3 per harvester, closed February
- Big Bend: 5 per harvester, open year-round
- South: 3 per harvester, open year-round
- Central East: 2 per harvester, closed Nov. 1-Dec. 31 (starting in 2020)
- Northeast: 5 per harvester, open year-round
Speckled Trout Slot Limit Florida
Zero captain and crew bag limit when on a for-hire trip (starting Feb. 1, 2020)
NOTE: These changes, effective Feb. 1, 2020, DO NOT replace the current catch-and-release measures for SW Florida. Seatrout remain catch-and-release in SW Florida through May 31, 2020.
Allowable Gear: Hook and line; cast net
Source: Spotted Seatrout Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Georgia Fishing
All limits per person unless specified. FL = fork length, TL = total length (see “How to Measure a Fish” below)
Species | Open Season | Daily Limit and Possession Limit | Minimum Size (inches) |
| Amberjack* | All year | 1 | 28 FL |
| American Eel | All year | 25 | 9 TL |
| Atlantic croaker | All year | 25 | |
| Atlantic sturgeon | No Harvest | ||
| Billfish (Blue marlin, White marlin, Sailfish)* | Catch and Release Only | ||
| Black drum | All year | 15 | 14 TL |
| Black sea bass* | All year | 15 | 12 TL |
| Bluefish | All year | 15 | 12 FL |
| Cobia | Mar. 1 – Oct. 31 | 1 per angler, max 6 per boat. | 36 FL |
| Dolphin* | All year | 10 (Not to exceed 60 per boat, except for headboats which are allowed 10 per paying customer. | 20 FL |
| Flounder | All year | 15 | 12 TL |
| Gag grouper* | All year | 2 | 24 TL |
| King mackerel* | All year | 3 | 24 FL |
| Red drum (Channel bass, Spottail bass, Redfish) | All year | 5 | 14 TL (23 TL maximum) |
| Red porgy* | All year | 3 | 14 TL |
| Red snapper* | All year | 2 | 20 TL |
| Sharks (other than Hammerheads, SSC and Prohibited Sharks)* | All Year | 1 per angler or boat, whichever is less | 54 FL |
| Sharks: Hammerheads (Great, Scalloped, and Smooth) | All Year | 1 per angler or boat, whichever is less | 78 FL |
| Small shark composite (SSC)* (Atlantic sharpnose, Bonnethead, Spiny dogfish) | All Year | 1 per angler | 30 FL |
| Prohibited Sharks (NO HARVEST) | Sand tiger, Sandbar, Silky, Bigeye sand tiger, Whale, Basking, White, Dusky, Bignose, Galapagos, Night, Reef, Narrowtooth, Caribbean sharpnose, Smalltail, Atlantic angel, Longfin mako, Bigeye thresher, Sharpnose sevengill, Bluntnose sixgill, and Bigeye sixgill | ||
| Sheepshead | All year | 15 | 10 FL |
| Spanish mackerel* | All year | 15 | 12 FL |
| Spot | All year | 25 | |
| Spotted seatrout | All year | 15 | 14 TL |
| Striped bass (Saltwater) | All year | 2 | 22 TL |
| Striped bass (Savannah River) | All year | 2 | 27 TL |
| Tarpon | All year | 1 | 68 FL |
| Tripletail | All year | 2 | 18 TL |
| Weakfish | All year | 1 | 13 TL |
* These species are also federally managed from 3 to 200 miles offshore. Go to www.safmc.net for federal regulations. | |||
Tagged Fish
Coastal Resources Division (CRD) biologists are conducting long-term studies on the growth, migration and fishing exploitation rates of red drum, black drum, tarpon, and tripletail. If you catch a tagged fish, please record and report the following information: 1) your name, address, and phone number, 2) fish species, 3) date caught, 4) tag number, 5) total length and location, and 6) whether the fish was kept or released. To report a tagged fish call (912) 264-7218. If released, please do not remove the tag.
If kept, please return the tag to GADNR/CRD, One Conservation Way, Brunswick, GA 31520. If the tag number is not legible lightly scrape the tag with your fingernail or similar flat object.
If you are an angler who practices catch and release and would like to become a cooperative angler please contact the Cooperative Angler Tagging Program at 912-264-7218.