Waterlands

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Greater amberjackRetention open

Channel · Florida

Bear Cut

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

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Best score today · 7 AM · Greater amberjack

79/100Great
Now
3110 AM EDT
Best window
6-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score31Fair
Tide0.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind0 kn Wgusts 15 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.8 ft · 4 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy57% chance of rain
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Greater amberjack

Retention open
Daily limit
1 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 28 in, fork length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Apr 1
Other
Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Open January through March and May through December. Closed in April.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Amberjack, 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)
  • 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)
  • 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 Greater amberjack is best here

Out of season for Greater amberjack · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks

Greater amberjack season by week of the year. Out of season for Greater amberjack · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Greater amberjack in Florida

Spot profile

Bear Cut

Depth
7-20 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
Season
Off seasonGreater amberjack

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 common snook, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, gray snapper, permit and red drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June.

Tackle & technique

Greater amberjack
Amberjack school around wrecks, oil rigs, towers and high-relief reefs in 60 to 250 feet, often suspended well above the bottom. Drop a live blue runner or work a heavy jig through the school, then pump hard, because a big AJ runs straight back into the structure. Heavy conventional gear with 50 to 80 pound line is standard.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Norris Cut

    Channel · 1.9 mi

    65
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 65
    • Crevalle jack 63
    • Atlantic tarpon 62

    0 kt WH 2:39 PM · 2.4 ftL 8:39 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Miami South Cannel

    Channel · 2.4 mi

    62
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 62
    • Atlantic tarpon 59
    • Crevalle jack 58

    0 kt WH 3:13 PM · 2.2 ftL 9:49 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Fishermans Channel

    Channel · 2.3 mi

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

    0 kt WH 3:13 PM · 2.2 ftL 9:49 PM · 1.1 ft

  • West Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    53
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 53
    • Crevalle jack 50
    • Atlantic tarpon 47

    0 kt WH 3:23 PM · 2.0 ftL 10:10 PM · 1.1 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.