The Friday Report: a calm morning, an east wind building all weekend, and Florida snapper opens one more weekend
The Friday Report is our standing weekly look at what’s happening on the water, bay to bottom, both sides of the line. The live numbers are on Beach Today and update all day. This is the human read on top of them. Last week was the gale; this week is a gentler story, with one good window up front.
The gist
Today is the best day of the weekend. NWS Mobile has seas of a foot or less this morning, then a Small Craft Advisory from late tonight through late Sunday night as an east-to-northeast wind builds. If you’re going offshore or in a small boat, go today. Saturday through Monday is a bumpy, gusty forecast, not a dangerous one like last week’s.
Conditions this week
The NWS Mobile coastal waters forecast, issued 3:02 AM CDT Friday, October 23:
- Out to 20 nautical miles (Pensacola to Pascagoula): Today is northeast wind 5 to 10 knots, seas 1 foot or less. Tonight turns east 15 to 20 knots, seas 2 to 4 feet, occasionally 5. Saturday and Sunday are northeast 15 to 20 knots with gusts to 25, seas 3 to 5 feet, occasionally 6. Sunday night reaches northeast 20 to 25 knots before easing after midnight. Monday is northeast 15 to 20 knots, seas 3 to 5. Tuesday is northeast 10 to 15 knots, seas 2 to 3 feet.
- 20 to 60 nautical miles: Today is northeast around 10 knots, seas about 2 feet. Saturday night through Monday is northeast 20 to 25 knots with gusts to 30, seas 4 to 7 feet and occasionally 9 on Sunday and Monday. Tuesday eases to 15 to 20, then 10 to 15 knots, seas 2 to 4 feet.
The forecast changes, so read the latest before you commit. The Beach Today feed showed 78°F water, a 1.3-foot surf, NNE wind at 13 mph, low rip-current risk and medium-hazard (yellow) flags on both sides, but it was flagged stale and last updated at 4 AM, so check the flag at your access. A steady onshore-leaning east wind like the one coming tends to build surf and rips over a couple of days, so don’t let a calm Friday talk you into a loose Sunday.
Inshore, bay, Pass, and back water
The calendar says this is prime fall inshore fishing: slot reds and the big bull reds around the Pass as mullet move out, speckled trout on the grass flats and dock pilings as the water cools, sheepshead on pilings and structure, and flounder staging to leave. I can’t tell you any of that is biting this week, because nobody has told us. An east wind pushes water into the bay, so expect higher tides and a bit of chop on open bay water over the weekend. The back water stays the protected choice. Run slow, there may still be storm debris around.
Surf and pier
This time of year the beach normally holds whiting, pompano and the occasional redfish in the wash. With surf building under the weekend wind, it will probably get choppier and dirtier by Sunday. Call before you drive to a pier, since hours can shift with weather. Pier rundown on the piers page.
Offshore and bottom
Today’s flat morning is the offshore window; Saturday night through Monday is a rough ride past 20 miles. A cooling pattern like this one usually perks up the bottom bite and the fall king and amberjack action, but treat that as the calendar talking, not a report. If you’ve got a charter booked, call the captain, since they make the weather call. The how-to-book-a-charter guide covers the questions to ask, and the boats are at the Pass marinas.
The one regs reminder that matters
Seasons change year to year, and the Florida and Alabama calendars don’t line up. As posted when we checked this morning:
- Florida Gulf red snapper (private boats): FWC lists it open Friday through Sunday, October 23–25, and again October 30–November 1. After that it’s weekends only: November 7–8, 14–15 and 21–22, Thanksgiving weekend November 26–29, and December 5–6, 12–13, 19–20 and 25–27. Confirm on FWC before you go.
- Alabama (private and state charter): Outdoor Alabama lists the season open seven days a week until the quota is met or the year ends, with no closure date announced yet. Check before you go.
- Federal for-hire (charter) snapper: the federal for-hire season is posted to close October 26, 2026.
- Two reds per person, 16-inch minimum, and Alabama’s Snapper Check is mandatory on that side. (New to that? The Glossary has it.)
- Flounder: we couldn’t confirm 2026 flounder dates for either state this week, so check the regulations cheat sheet and the state sites before keeping one.
The honest take
Go today or plan around the wind. The morning is clean, the weekend is a steady 15 to 25 knot east-northeast push, and Tuesday looks like the first easy day again. The fall calendar is a good one, but I won’t promise fish I haven’t heard about. If you fish today, tell us how it went.
Tell us what you saw
This report is only as good as what’s coming off the boats. Caught something, blanked, found a ramp or pier in an odd state? Send it in. Photos are welcome, and we’ll change your name if you want. Next report drops Friday.
— Chris
P.S. Captains, marinas, and bait-and-tackle shops on either side of the line can claim their listing free at /submit/claim/, or add one that’s missing at /submit/.
