Mississippi Red Snapper Season Reopens Labor Day Weekend

Mississippi offshore anglers are getting another red snapper window over Labor Day weekend.

The season reopens for private recreational anglers and state for-hire vessels at 12:01 a.m. Friday, September 4, 2026, and runs through 11:59 p.m. Monday, September 7. Anglers landing in Mississippi may keep two red snapper per person per day with a 16-inch minimum size limit.

If enough pounds remain in Mississippi’s private recreational annual catch limit, the season can continue on weekends until the ACL is projected to be reached. The season is open in both state and federal waters, with private recreational anglers able to fish out to 200 nautical miles. State for-hire vessels are limited to Mississippi territorial waters, nine nautical miles south of the barrier islands.

Mississippi also reminds anglers that Tails n’ Scales trip reporting is mandatory for red snapper, and every licensed angler on the vessel must have a Mississippi Recreational Offshore Landing Permit to possess and land reef fish and cobia in the state.

Red snapper seasons are always a fight between opportunity, quota, reporting, and trust. The smartest move is to fish it clean: legal fish, legal permits, honest reports, and no excuses. That is how anglers protect the fishery and keep pressure on managers to give the public every day the resource can support.