States·FL
Florida fishing
News-desk briefs whose primary water is Florida.
News4JAX reported Sept. 25 that fishermen say hundreds of trophy trout, redfish, and other species died at Guana Preserve in Ponte Vedra Beach. Commissioner Clay Murphy met with FDEP; water sampling is planned, and a restoration proposal is expected in October or November.
On Sept. 18, FWC certified a new jaguar guapote state record: 3.02 pounds, 16 inches, caught by 16-year-old Xzavier Peon of Miami in the Westwood Lakes area on live bait. The previous record had stood since 2017.
Randy Meredith’s Sept. 16 Navarre Newspaper pier report: water clearing at 83°F, NE wind 3–15, 1–3 ft seas. By 7 p.m. Spanish, king, ladyfish, yellowtail, and hardtail were on the sheet. Windows: 11:30–12:30, 4–6 p.m., and 9:30–10:30 p.m.
FWC matched NOAA’s 2026 Gulf gag calendar: state waters excluding Monroe County, and the federal Gulf EEZ, are open Sept. 1–30 and close at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1. Minimum 24 inches TL; two gag in the four-grouper bag. SEDAR 72 still lists the stock overfished and overfishing.
Osceola News Gazette, Sept. 17: the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship launches Friday–Sunday from Big Toho Marina on the Kissimmee Chain. Purse $453,000, top prize up to $135,000, plus a REDCREST 2027 berth. Drought has the chain low.
Green Cove Springs’ Cody Morgan took the MLF Phoenix BFL Gator Division finale on the St. Johns River at Palatka with 10 bass, 61 pounds 9 ounces, and $3,920 after a shell-flat program and a 12-11 on Day 2.