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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 345 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7-10 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High2.2 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bear Cut scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Friday, Oct 2 · 6 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
96Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.7 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt SWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
47Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
35Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
Spanish mackerel
Retention open- Daily limit
- 15 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 12 in, fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Beach or haul seine, cast net, hook and line, or spear. Open year-round.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Spanish Mackerel, 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 grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
- 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)
- 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)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Spanish mackerel is best here
Out of season for Spanish mackerel · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Bear Cut
- Depth
- 7-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
- Season
- Off seasonSpanish mackerel
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 bonefish, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for bonefish, Atlantic tarpon, permit and gray snapper. Bonefish peak from March through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June.
Tackle & technique
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
- Bonefish
- Bonefish push onto shallow sand and grass flats with the rising tide to root for shrimp, crabs and clams, often in water under 2 feet deep, and fall back to channel edges and deeper flats as the tide drops. Most fish are sight cast to with a small shrimp or crab fly, a light jig or a live shrimp, which takes bright sun, light wind and a quiet approach. They are catch and release only in Florida, and in Hawaii many anglers also fish bait from shore along sand channels and reef edges.
- 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 Channel64
Channel · 2.3 mi
Top: BonefishShoulder season- Bonefish 64
- Common snook 61
- Atlantic tarpon 59
2 kt WSWL 11:55 PM · 1.1 ftH 5:24 AM · 2.1 ft
- Norris Cut63
Channel · 1.9 mi
Top: BonefishShoulder season- Bonefish 63
- Common snook 61
- Atlantic tarpon 58
2 kt WSWL 10:45 PM · 1.1 ftH 4:50 AM · 2.3 ft
- Miami South Cannel63
Channel · 2.4 mi
Top: BonefishShoulder season- Bonefish 63
- Common snook 61
- Atlantic tarpon 58
2 kt WSWL 11:55 PM · 1.1 ftH 5:24 AM · 2.1 ft
- West Point60
Cape · 1.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 60
- Bonefish 57
- Atlantic tarpon 55
2 kt WSWL 12:16 AM · 1.0 ftH 5:34 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.