The Friday Report: a decent weekend window, Florida snapper days continue, and a nasty Monday-Tuesday blow
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.
The gist
Saturday and Sunday are the fishing days. Monday and Tuesday are not. NWS Mobile has northeast wind 10 to 15 knots and seas around 2 feet this weekend, then the wind ramps up to 25 to 30 knots Monday with seas building well past what a small boat should be in. If you want offshore this week, it’s this weekend or it’s next weekend. Sunset is just before 5 PM, so plan to be back early.
Conditions this week
The NWS Mobile coastal waters forecast, issued 3:02 AM CST Friday, November 13. No advisories were listed on the zone pages when we checked, but that can change fast with a forecast like this one:
- Out to 20 nautical miles (Pensacola to Pascagoula): Today is northwest 10 to 15 knots, seas about 2 feet. Tonight north around 15, gusting to 20. Saturday is northeast 10 to 15, gusts to 20, easing to 5 to 10 in the afternoon, seas about 2 feet. Sunday is northeast 10 to 15, gusts to 20, seas 2 to 3 feet. Monday is northeast 20 to 25 rising to 25 to 30 knots in the afternoon, seas 5 to 7 feet, occasionally 9. Tuesday is northeast 25 to 30, seas 6 to 9 feet, occasionally 11.
- 20 to 60 nautical miles: Saturday is northeast 10 to 15, seas 2 to 3 feet. Sunday is east 10 to 15, gusts to 20, seas 2 to 3 feet, building to 2 to 4 feet, occasionally 5, Sunday night. Monday is east 25 to 30 knots with seas 7 to 10 feet, occasionally 13. Tuesday seas 9 to 12 feet, occasionally 15.
The Beach Today feed showed 74°F Gulf water, surf around 2.3 feet at a 3-second period, north wind near 13 mph, low rip-current risk and medium-hazard (yellow) flags on both sides. It was flagged stale (last update 4 AM), so check the flag at your access. A short 3-second period means choppy, wind-driven surf, not clean groundswell.
Inshore, bay, Pass, and back water
The calendar says November is prime inshore time: slot reds and bull reds around the Pass, speckled trout on the grass flats and dock pilings as the water cools, and sheepshead on structure. Northeast wind this weekend puts some chop on the open bay, so the lee side of the shoreline and the back water are the comfortable choice. A sustained northeast blow like the one forecast for early next week also tends to stack water into the bay and muddy the shallows, which is worth knowing before you plan a Tuesday trip. I can’t tell you any of it is biting this week, because nobody has told us.
Surf and pier
This time of year the beach normally holds whiting, pompano and the occasional redfish in the wash. With choppy surf near two feet and a building northeast wind, it’s a morning-after-the-wind-lays-down kind of beach, and the water gets rougher as the week goes on. Call before you drive to a pier, since hours can shift in windy weather, and expect Monday and Tuesday to be miserable on the rail. Pier rundown on the piers page.
Offshore and bottom
Saturday and Sunday look like the workable offshore days on the forecast, with Sunday night the start of the build. Monday and Tuesday are a stay-at-the-dock forecast. The cooling pattern usually favors the bottom bite plus fall kings and amberjack, 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 the season open weekends only from here: November 14–15 and 21–22, Thanksgiving weekend November 26–29, December 5–6, 12–13 and 19–20, December 25–27, and January 1–4, 2027. So this Saturday and Sunday are open days. Confirm on FWC before you go.
- Alabama (private and state charter): Outdoor Alabama lists the season open seven days a week until the end of the year or until the quota is met, with no closure date posted when we checked. Check before you go.
- Federal for-hire (charter) snapper: that season was posted as June 1 through October 26, 2026. Charters without a federal permit follow the state season.
- 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 didn’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
Use the weekend. The forecast for Saturday and Sunday is workable but not glassy, and the Monday-Tuesday northeast blow is the real story of the week. If you were planning a weekday trip, move it or expect to cancel. The fall calendar is a good one, but I won’t promise fish I haven’t heard about. Dress in layers, keep a close eye on the NWS updates, and 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/.
