Waterlands

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Red grouperRetention open

Channel · Florida

Bear Cut

25.73°N · 80.16°W · Channel · Biscayne Bay

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Best score today · 6 PM · Red grouper

77/100Great
Now
468 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.9 ft

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Sep 18 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score59Good
Tide0.9 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward E
Wind5 kn Egusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 5 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy36% chance of rain
Water87°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Red grouper

Retention open
Daily limit
3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 20 in, total length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Jan 1
Other
Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. No more than 3 grouper and tilefish combined per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Open May 1 through December 31. Closed January 1 through April 30.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Groupers, read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Atlantic croaker Retention open (50 per day)
  • Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
  • Bluefish Retention open (3 per day)
  • Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
  • Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
  • Crevalle jack Retention open
  • Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
  • Gag grouper Closed (No retention)
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (10 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
  • Red snapper Check regulations
  • Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
  • Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
  • Snook Retention open (1 per day)
  • Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open (50 per day)
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Red grouper is best here

Shoulder season for Red grouper · 27 more weeks at shoulder

Red grouper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red grouper · 27 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red grouper in Florida

Spot profile

Bear Cut

Depth
7-20 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonRed grouper

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Bear Cut

Bear Cut is a channel in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 7-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are crevalle jack, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for crevalle jack and common snook, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, gray snapper, red drum and permit. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June.

Tackle & technique

Red grouper
Red grouper live on low limestone ledges and potholed live bottom across the West Florida Shelf, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Drift to find hard bottom, then anchor and fish live pinfish, grunts or squid on the bottom with stout conventional tackle. Reel hard right after the bite, because they dive into holes, and use a descending device on fish released from deep water.
Crevalle jack
Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
Common snook
Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Fishermans Channel

    Channel · 2.3 mi

    64
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 64
    • Crevalle jack 64
    • Atlantic tarpon 63

    4 kt NNEL 8:49 PM · 1.0 ftH 2:21 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Miami South Cannel

    Channel · 2.4 mi

    63
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 63
    • Crevalle jack 63
    • Atlantic tarpon 62

    4 kt NNEL 8:49 PM · 1.0 ftH 2:21 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Norris Cut

    Channel · 1.9 mi

    61
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 61
    • Common snook 59
    • Atlantic tarpon 58

    4 kt NNEH 1:47 AM · 2.4 ftL 8:04 AM · 0.8 ft

  • West Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    60
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 60
    • Crevalle jack 60
    • Atlantic tarpon 56

    4 kt NNEL 9:10 PM · 1.0 ftH 2:31 AM · 2.0 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with FWC before you keep a fish.