Waterlands

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Greater amberjackRetention open

Bar · Florida

Biscayne Flats

25.64°N · 80.17°W · Bar · Biscayne Bay

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Best score today · 6 AM · Greater amberjack

78/100Great
Now
515 AM EST
Best window
5-8 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Sunday, Nov 8 · 6 PM

Time6P
Score57Good
Tide2.0 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.6 kn · toward W
Wind3 kn SSEgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 6 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherClear6% cloud
Water82°FModel

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 (1 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 Closed (No retention)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open (50 per day)
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Greater amberjack is best here

Shoulder season for Greater amberjack · 16 more weeks at shoulder

Greater amberjack season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Greater amberjack · 16 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Greater amberjack in Florida →

Spot profile

Biscayne Flats

Depth
5-20 ftSlope
Structure
Flat · Outer · ExposedFlat · slope
Season
Shoulder 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 Biscayne Flats

Biscayne Flats is a bar in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 5-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads flat, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, common snook and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, crevalle jack and king mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, gray snapper and Spanish mackerel. Red drum peak from October through February. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November.

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.
Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
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

  • Biscayne Channel

    Channel · 1.1 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Common snook 69
    • Crevalle jack 66

    6 kt ESEL 8:47 AM · 0.5 ftH 3:01 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Cape Florida Anchorage

    Channel · 2.0 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Common snook 69
    • Crevalle jack 68

    6 kt ESEL 8:47 AM · 0.5 ftH 3:01 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Cape Florida Channel

    Channel · 2.6 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Common snook 69
    • Crevalle jack 66

    6 kt ESEL 8:47 AM · 0.5 ftH 3:01 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Cape Florida

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Red drum 67
    • Crevalle jack 63

    6 kt ESEL 8:47 AM · 0.5 ftH 3:01 PM · 2.5 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.