What's Biting FLBluegill and Shellcracker regulations
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Crickets, worms and small poppers around bedding areas on the full moons from April through July.
Applies to: statewide freshwater
| Species / zone | Season | Size | Bag | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panfish (including bluegill, redear sunfish (shellcracker), flier, longear sunfish, mud sunfish, shadow bass, spotted sunfish (stumpknocker), warmouth and redbreast sunfish) Statewide | open now Open year-round | — | 50 Panfish including bluegill, redear sunfish (shellcracker), flier, longear sunfish, mud sunfish, shadow bass, spotted sunfish (stumpknocker), warmouth and redbreast sunfish, individually or in total. | Keep game fish intact: black bass, striped bass and white bass or their hybrids, peacock bass, or black crappie and panfish (for black crappie and panfish, only in waters where minimum-length or slot-size limits for these fish apply) may not be filleted, nor their head or tail fin removed, until the angler has completed fishing for the day. |
- Special bag and length limits apply to some lakes, rivers (this page) and Fish Management Areas. Other fishes considered to be nongame fishes have no bag or possession limits, except as noted in individual Fish Management Area regulations.
- No person shall take in any one day more than the following bag limits of freshwater game fish:
- No person shall have in his possession more than two days’ bag limit of freshwater game fish (see Rule 68A-23.005 for details).
- Each angler is responsible for his or her own bag limit. It is illegal to transport or possess more than two days’ bag limit of fish per licensed angler without a commercial license. Exceptions are fish legally acquired from aquaculturists (fish farmers) for use in aquaria, for brood stock, pond stocking, or properly marked for the market.
- No native freshwater fish or their eggs may be taken or possessed except as permitted by these rules nor shall anyone wantonly or willfully waste the same.
Source: FWC, extracted 2026-10-29. Review flags: The page does not state whether seasons are open year-round; this is inferred from the absence of closure dates.; The page does not state which waters the rules apply to beyond 'statewide'; 'coast' is set to 'both' as freshwater rules apply statewide.; The page does not state license requirements.; The page does not state gear restrictions for most species except shad/herring (hook and line).; The page does not state size limits for panfish, crappie, shad/herring, grass carp, alligator gar, or sturgeon.; The page does not state bag limits for grass carp, alligator gar, or sturgeon (possession is restricted/prohibited).