Cast nets are how most of us get bait on the SWFL flats, and they have more rules than people expect. This is what the state’s recreational gear page says (eRegulations, “Last Updated: July 16, 2026,” retrieved October 2026). It also notes that “Additional regional gear restrictions may apply in your county.”
The page lists cast nets “measuring 14 feet or less stretched length.” It defines stretched length as “the distance from the horn at the center of the net with the net gathered and pulled taut, to the lead line.” Measure your net the way the rule does before you throw it near an officer.
Cast nets and seines “may be used as harvesting gear for the following species only”: black drum, bluefish, cobia, flounder, mullet, Florida pompano, red drum, sheepshead, shrimp, Spanish mackerel, weakfish and unregulated species. Unregulated species are covered on the coastal species page, which says the majority of Florida’s marine species “have no specific regulations with regard to bag limits, size limits, gear restrictions or closed seasons.”
Species with their own size or bag rules still carry them. A cast net does not change the redfish slot. See our redfish rules post.
The page says “No more than two nets can be fished from any vessel and no more than one net can be fished by any person not on a vessel.” A pair of anglers on a boat can run two nets between them. A person on a dock, seawall or beach is limited to one.
The page also lists hand-held landing or dip nets no greater than 96 inches in perimeter, bully nets for lobster no greater than 3 feet in diameter, and frame and push nets for shrimp no greater than 16 feet in perimeter. Monofilament is not allowed in bully, frame or push nets. Beach or haul seines are limited to 500 square feet of mesh area.
The gear page does not discuss whether a license is needed to throw a net. For that, use the license pages: our license guide and the pier post cover shoreline and exemption rules.
Hook-and-line anglers “must tend their gear at all times.” The page also says it is “against the law to intentionally discard any monofilament netting or line into or onto state waters.”
Rules change. Confirm on the FWC site before you buy a net, and read local park rules for the spot you plan to fish. Our regulations page lists more.