Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

10/30/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/30/2026 09:15

Recreational harvest of spotted seatrout in the Indian River management region will close on Nov. 1

The recreational harvest season for spotted seatrout closes Nov. 1 in the Indian River management region.

Recreational harvest of spotted seatrout remains open in all other management regions (Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Southwest, Southeast, and Northeast). This includes all Florida state and inland waters within each management region, as well as adjacent federal waters.

The spotted seatrout management regions are part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) holistic management approach for Florida's most popular inshore fisheries. This approach uses a suite of fishery-specific and environmental metrics to evaluate the fishery by region, allowing the FWC to be more responsive to local concerns.

To learn more about spotted seatrout, visit MyFWC.com/Marine and select "Spotted Seatrout" under "Recreational Regulations." This page includes the spotted seatrout annual reviews, which provide summaries of key findings from the annual evaluation of management metrics for each region.

Spotted Seatrout Regional Recreational Regulations:

Panhandle

  • Open season: March 1-Jan. 31.
  • Closed season: Feb.
  • Bag limit: Three fish per person.
  • Slot limit: 15-19 inches.
  • Over-slot allowance: One fish over-slot allowed per vessel or per person if fishing from shore.

Big Bend

  • Open season: Year-round.
  • Closed season: None.
  • Bag limit: Five fish per person.
  • Slot limit: 15-19 inches.
  • Over-slot allowance: One fish over-slot allowed per vessel or per person if fishing from shore.

Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Southwest, Southeast

  • Open season: Year-round.
  • Closed season: None.
  • Bag limit: Three fish per person.
  • Slot limit: 15-19 inches.
  • Over-slot allowance: One fish over-slot allowed per vessel or per person if fishing from shore.

Indian River Lagoon

  • Open season: Jan.1-Oct. 31.
  • Closed season: Nov. 1-Dec. 31.
  • Bag limit: Two fish per person.
  • Slot limit: 15-19 inches.
  • Over-slot allowance: None.

Northeast

  • Open season: Year-round.
  • Closed season: None.
  • Bag limit: Three fish per person.
  • Slot limit: 15-19 inches.
  • Over-slot allowance: None.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission published this content on October 30, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 30, 2026 at 15:15 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]