Waterlands

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Greater amberjackRetention open

Bar · Florida

Black Ledge

25.59°N · 80.25°W · Bar · Biscayne Bay

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Best score today · 8 AM · Greater amberjack

76/100Great
Now
352 AM EDT
Best window
7-10 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Sep 29 · 8 AM

Time8A
Score35Fair
Tide0.8 ft ▲Flooding
Wind8 kn WSWgusts 16 · easing
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy39% chance of rain
Water86°FPersisted

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 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

Black Ledge

Depth
6-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · flat bottom
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 Black Ledge

Black Ledge is a bar in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 6-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for gray snapper, red drum, red grouper and Atlantic tarpon. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Gray snapper peak from May through August. 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.
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.
Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Deering Bay Channel

    Channel · 3.5 mi

    69
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 69
    • Crevalle jack 64
    • Atlantic tarpon 64

    4 kt EH 4:01 AM · 2.1 ftL 10:51 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Biscayne Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 67
    • Crevalle jack 63
    • Red drum 62

    4 kt ENEH 3:11 AM · 1.9 ftL 10:21 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Shoal Point

    Cape · 3.7 mi

    64
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 64
    • Crevalle jack 59
    • Red drum 58

    4 kt EH 4:01 AM · 2.1 ftL 10:51 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Paradise Point

    Cape · 3.7 mi

    64
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 64
    • Crevalle jack 59
    • Red drum 58

    4 kt EH 4:01 AM · 2.1 ftL 10:51 AM · 0.7 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.