When is the best time of year to catch (fill in the blank) fish? That’s one of our most common questions and we built a page just for it! This page shows seasonal information about each fish we can catch out of Port Canaveral. This guide combines Sea Leveler’s detailed catch records and fishing reports with Captain Greg’s 30+ years of local fishing experience. Select Offshore, Nearshore or Long Range and then select the fish you want to view.
Yellowtail Snapper
Brilliant yellow tails and surprise bottom bites.
Offshore
Yellowtail snapper are slender fish with a bright yellow stripe and yellow tail. They’re excellent eating fish and an occasional colorful addition to our mixed offshore bottom catch.
Trip options
¾-day offshore · Full-day offshore
Fishing techniques
Bottom fishing small cut baits on chicken rigs while targeting a mix of deeper bottom fish.
Ideal conditions
Deeper reefs or other structure, typically in 160–220 feet of water, with feeding fish and manageable current that allows small baits to reach the bottom. We sometimes encounter yellowtail after very rough seas along Florida’s coast.
Typical size
Generally under 5 pounds
Edibility
Excellent
The season at a glance…
Yellowtail snapper are a rare, incidental catch this far north around Port Canaveral. They may join the catch during deeper offshore bottom-fishing stops, but our records don’t show a clear seasonal peak.
Seasonal strength: 1 = lower opportunity · 5 = stronger opportunity · Closed = seasonal closure shown in our calendar, however regulations change and closures can happen earlier after catch quotas are filled. Ratings compare months for each fish. They are not catch percentages or guarantees.
Based on Sea Leveler’s catch records, fishing reports, and Captain Greg’s 30+ years of experience fishing Port Canaveral. Weather, water conditions, and bait movement affect the bite each day. Harvest regulations can change; your captain confirms what may be kept.
01
Finding the Fish
The captain heads to deeper reefs or other structure and checks the bottom machine for fish. He prepares chicken rigs with small cut baits and shows you how to lower them to the bottom. We’re fishing for a mix of vermilion snapper, triggerfish, porgies, sea bass, and other bottom fish.
02
The Bite and Fight
You feel for the bite and follow the captain’s coaching as you reel the fish up from deeper water. A chicken rig can bring up two fish on one drop. A yellowtail may be a surprise among the other species coming aboard.
03
At the Boat
The captain identifies the catch, handles the hooks, and checks whether each fish can be kept. Legal keepers go on ice, and he helps rebait your rig for another drop.
There’s no real rhyme or reason to our yellowtail catches here. We sometimes catch a few after very rough seas along Florida’s coast, almost like they got lost and ended up on our deeper fishing grounds. We’re usually chicken rig fishing for vermilion, triggerfish, porgies, and sea bass when one comes up. It’s a nice surprise, and another excellent fish for dinner! — Capt Greg