(3/31/06) A clarification to our story on Carrabelle Red Snapper in the April 2006 issue (page 28) is in order.

Where we discuss season dates, size and bag limits for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, we wrote: "Overnight trips, if properly documented, count as two days."

That statement is only partly true.

Proper documentation, in this case, means you are fishing a 24-hour or longer trip aboard a charter- or partyboat with sleeping berths for all passengers, at least two captains, and you have a paid receipt to document the duration of the trip. Only under this special circumstance may you land more than the one-day bag limit of red snapper (or other reef fish).

The same rule applies on Florida's Atlantic waters.

For the full text of the rule, see Florida Administrative Code 68B-14.0038; also federal Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management councils rules.

One other small note: In Gulf of Mexico federal waters, red snapper are not counted as part of the 10-fish snapper aggregate bag limit, as was stated in the article. They are, however, part of the 10-snapper aggregate in Florida state waters, extending out 9 miles from shore. To avoid confrontations with law enforcement officers, many Florida anglers defer to the more conservative bag limit.

Thanks to Lt. Bruce Cooper, North Central region patrol supervisor with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, for bringing this oversight to our attention.