Guide
Fishing: what is open, and the limits
Checked October 9, 2026 against the Coastal Resources Division’s limits page and its red snapper release, Georgia’s printed regulations, and NOAA Fisheries.
The Fishing tile says, for Georgia’s sounds and the Atlantic out to 3 nautical miles, whether each fish people go out for is open today and what may be kept. When it cannot be sure, it says Check and links the rule.
What the tile covers
Red drum, spotted seatrout, flounder, black drum, sheepshead, cobia, king mackerel, tarpon and red snapper, with the Coastal Resources Division’s daily limits, and red snapper in federal waters on the season NOAA Fisheries and Georgia set.
- Red drum is open all year: five a day, 14 to 23 inches, rod and reel only. From January 1, 2027 it is three a day, 15 to 24 inches, on CRD’s page.
- Cobia is open March 1 through October 31, one a person and six a boat, 36 inches fork length, and closed November through February.
- Red snapper in Georgia’s waters, out to 3 miles, is two a day, 20 inches, all year.
- Red snapper in federal waters in 2026: October 9 to 22 under Georgia’s exempted fishing permit, one a day, no minimum size. Each trip is declared in the VESL app before leaving and reported within 24 hours, and it must start and end at a Georgia landing. NOAA’s own federal season, for anglers outside the permit, is October 9 to 11. Nothing after October 22 is set; Georgia and NOAA may add a December season.
- From January 1, 2027, landing cobia, king mackerel or red snapper in Georgia needs the Reef & Migratory Fish Endorsement.
- Fishing Georgia’s saltwater needs a fishing license and the free Saltwater Information Program permit, renewed every year.
Which water your town reads
Georgia’s limits are the same everywhere on its coast, so every town reads one water.
| Water | Runs | Towns |
|---|---|---|
| The sounds and the Atlantic | The sounds, rivers and the Atlantic out to 3 nautical miles, the South Carolina line to the Florida line | Tybee Island, Savannah, Thunderbolt, Wilmington Island, Skidaway Island, Richmond Hill, Midway, Sunbury, Darien, Sapelo Island, Brunswick, St. Simons Island, Sea Island, Jekyll Island, Woodbine, Kingsland, St. Marys, Cumberland Island |
How the words are earned
- Open, Closed or Check. Each fish’s word comes from the limits we read off CRD’s own page, written down with the date we read it, and checked against Georgia’s printed regulations.
- A page that changes turns its fish to Check. CRD’s limits are compared, word for word, every time the board refreshes. An edit we have not read yet is Check.
- A NOAA notice turns a fish to Check. When NOAA Fisheries posts a South Atlantic bulletin about one of these fish after we read the rules, that fish says Check, with a link to it, until someone has read it. A wrong “Open” is a ticket; Check is a minute reading the rule.
- The limits here are the state’s, for its own waters out to 3 nautical miles. Federal waters beyond have their own rules.
Who to call
- Coastal Resources Division, Brunswick 912-264-7218.
Sources
- CRD, saltwater fishing limits — the limits the tile reads
- Georgia fishing regulations, finfish seasons, limits and sizes — the same limits in the state’s guide
- CRD, Georgia secures 14-day red snapper season
- NOAA Fisheries, the 2026 South Atlantic red snapper season
- NOAA Fisheries, South Atlantic bulletins