Spotted Seatrout
Spotted Seatrout Management Regions and Regulations
* Regulations apply in state and adjacent federal waters
The western boundary is located at the Florida-Alabama border, and the region extends to the eastern coastal boundary at 84°20.800ꞌ West Longitude in Franklin County near Alligator Point. Includes all inland waters of the counties named and highlighted in yellow. Does not include Ochlockonee Bay or the Ochlockonee River and its tributaries.
Closed season: February
Open season: March 1 – Jan. 31
Slot limit: Not less than 15” or more than 19” total length
May possess one fish over 19 inches per vessel or, if fishing from shore, one fish over 19 inches per person, included in the bag limit.
Bag limit: Three fish per person per day
All Florida Waters and adjacent federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico lying east of 84°20.800ꞌ West Longitude in Franklin County and north of a line running due east and due west from the westernmost point of Fred Howard Park Causeway (28°09.350’N, 82°48.398’W). Includes all waters of Pinellas County north of 28°09.350’ North Latitude and all waters of the counties highlighted in yellow, as well as Ochlockonee Bay and the Ochlockonee, Withlacoochee, and Anclote rivers and their tributaries.
Season: Open year-round
Slot limit: Not less than 15” or more than 19” total length
May possess one fish over 19 inches per vessel or, if fishing from shore, one fish over 19 inches per person, included in the bag limit.
Bag limit: Five fish per person per day
All Florida Waters and adjacent federal waters lying south of the westernmost point of Fred Howard Park Causeway in Pinellas County and north of the western terminus of State Road 64 in Manatee County, all waters of Manatee County north of State Road 64, and all waters of Hillsborough County. Includes the Alafia, Braden, Manatee, and Hillsborough rivers. Does not include Palma Sola Bay or the Anclote River and its tributaries.
Season: Open year-round
Slot limit: Not less than 15” or more than 19” total length
May possess one fish over 19 inches per vessel or, if fishing from shore, one fish over 19 inches per person, included in the bag limit.
Bag limit: Three fish per person per day
All Florida Waters and adjacent federal waters lying south of the Tampa Bay Region and north of 27°04.727’ North Latitude in Sarasota County, all waters of Manatee County south of State Road 64 and west of 82°22.500’ West Longitude, and all waters of Sarasota County west of 82°22.500’ West Longitude and north of 27°04.727’ North Latitude. Includes Palma Sola Bay, Phillippi Creek, Cow Pen Slough Canal, and Curry Creek. Does not include the Braden or Manatee rivers.
Season: Open year-round
Slot limit: Not less than 15” or more than 19” total length
May possess one fish over 19 inches per vessel or, if fishing from shore, one fish over 19 inches per person, included in the bag limit.
Bag limit: Three fish per person per day
All Florida Waters and adjacent federal waters lying south of the Sarasota Bay Region and north of a line extending due west from a point located at 26°15.227’N, 81°49.412’W in Collier County, all waters of Collier County north of 26°15.227’ North Latitude, all waters of Manatee and Sarasota counties east and south of the Sarasota Bay Region, all waters of the counties highlighted in yellow, including all waters and tributaries of the Caloosahatchee, Myakka, and Peace rivers, excluding all waters of Lake Okeechobee.
Season: Open year-round
Slot limit: Not less than 15” or more than 19” total length
May possess one fish over 19 inches per vessel or, if fishing from shore, one fish over 19 inches per person, included in the bag limit.
Bag limit: Three fish per person per day
All Florida Waters and adjacent federal waters lying south of the Charlotte Harbor Region and all Florida Waters and adjacent federal waters lying south of the Southeast Region, all waters of Collier County south of 26°15.227’ North Latitude, all waters of Monroe County, and all waters of Everglades National Park.
Season: Open year-round
Slot limit: Not less than 15” or more than 19” total length
May possess one fish over 19 inches per vessel or, if fishing from shore, one fish over 19 inches per person, included in the bag limit.
Bag limit: Three fish per person per day
All Florida Waters and adjacent federal waters lying south of the Martin-Palm Beach county line and north of the Miami-Dade/Monroe county line, including all waters of the counties highlighted in yellow, including all waters of the Loxahatchee River and its tributaries, Hillsboro Canal, Miami Canal, North New River Canal, and West Palm Beach Canal, excluding all waters of Lake Okeechobee and all waters of Everglades National Park.
Special regulations apply for this species when fishing in Biscayne National Park.
Season: Open year-round
Slot limit: Not less than 15” or more than 19” total length
May possess one fish over 19 inches per vessel or, if fishing from shore, one fish over 19 inches per person, included in the bag limit.
Bag limit: Three fish per person per day
All Florida Waters and adjacent federal waters lying south of a line extending due east from a point located at 29°01.755’N, 80°54.160’W in Volusia County and north of the Martin-Palm Beach county line, all waters of the counties highlighted in yellow, all inside waters of Volusia County south of Lytle Avenue/South Causeway (State Road A1A), all waters of Volusia County south of State Road 44 and east of I-95, including all waters of the Kissimmee River, Cypress Lake, Lake Hatchineha, Lake Kissimmee, and Lake Okeechobee, excluding all waters of the Loxahatchee River and its tributaries and all waters of the St. Johns River and its tributaries.
Closed season: November 1 – December 31
Open season: Jan. 1 – Oct. 31
Slot limit: Not less than 15” or more than 19” total length
May not possess fish larger than 19 inches total length
Bag limit: Two fish per person per day
All Florida Waters and adjacent federal waters lying south of the Florida-Georgia border and north of the Indian River Lagoon Region, all waters of the counties highlighted in yellow, all waters of Volusia County north and west of the Indian River Lagoon Region, including all waters of the St. Johns River and its tributaries, excluding all waters of the Withlacoochee River, Kissimmee River, Cypress Lake, Lake Hatchineha, and Lake Kissimmee.
Season: Open year-round
Slot limit: Not less than 15” or more than 19” total length
May not possess fish larger than 19 inches total length
Bag limit: Three fish per person per day
Other Regulations
Must remain in whole condition until landed ashore
For-hire captain and crew may not keep a bag limit while on a for-hire trip
Allowable gear: Hook and line; cast net
Prohibited gear: Cannot harvest using any multiple hook in conjunction with live or dead natural bait; snatching prohibited
Spotted Seatrout Management
Spotted seatrout is one of Florida’s most popular inshore recreational fisheries and can be targeted in every major estuary around the state. Regulations for spotted seatrout harvest date back to 1883 when spotted seatrout were prohibited for use in oil, fertilizer, or compost. By the late 1980s, stock assessments showed that Florida's spotted seatrout stocks were below the 20% management target, prompting the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC), the predecessor agency to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), to implement statewide measures including gear restrictions, size and bag limits, and commercial quotas. Despite those efforts, stakeholder concerns with the fishery persisted, leading to the MFC to implement further regulatory changes.
In 1996, the MFC introduced regional management for recreational and commercial fisheries to better address differences across the state. Region-specific bag limits, slot limits, and closed seasons were implemented to address regional differences in stakeholder interests and the status of the fishery across the state. Since then, the FWC has adapted the spotted seatrout management regions to address differences in the fishery around the state. Both the MFC and the FWC worked closely with stakeholders to adapt management strategies to regional conditions and to maintain access to the resource while meeting conservation goals.
In 2026, FWC adopted a new regional management approach that brings a holistic view to management decisions by using multiple metrics (spawning potential ratio, relative abundance, habitat, harmful algal blooms, fishing effort, and stakeholder feedback) to evaluate the fishery on a smaller regional scale. Each year, the FWC will evaluate the seatrout fishery in each management region using these metrics, and key findings will be summarized in “Annual Review” publications (see links below).
Annual Reviews
- 2025 Panhandle Seatrout Annual Review
- 2025 Big Bend Seatrout Annual Review
- 2025 Tampa Bay Seatrout Annual Review
- 2025 Sarasota Bay Seatrout Annual Review
- 2025 Charlotte Harbor Seatrout Annual Review
- 2025 Southwest Seatrout Annual Review
- 2025 Southeast Seatrout Annual Review
- 2025 Indian River Lagoon Seatrout Annual Review
- 2025 Northeast Seatrout Annual Review