Waterlands

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BluefishRetention open

Bar · Florida

Bowles Bank

25.50°N · 80.16°W · Bar · Biscayne Bay

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Best score today · 10 PM · Bluefish

80/100Great
Now
359 AM EST
Best window
9 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score35Fair
Tide1.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward ESE
Wind5 kn NEgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherClear14% cloud
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Bluefish

Retention open
Daily limit
3 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 12 in, fork length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Hook and line, spears, gigs, seine or cast net.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Bluefish, read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Atlantic croaker Retention open (50 per day)
  • Black drum Retention open (5 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 (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 Bluefish is best here

Out of season for Bluefish · shoulder season starts in 4 weeks

Bluefish season by week of the year. Out of season for Bluefish · shoulder season starts in 4 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Bluefish in Florida →

Spot profile

Bowles Bank

Depth
About 15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bank · Outer · ExposedBank · flat bottom
Season
Off seasonBluefish

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 Bowles Bank

Bowles Bank is a bar in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is about 15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bank, outer water and exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
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.
King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Sands Cut

    Channel · 1.5 mi

    85
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 85
    • Crevalle jack 82
    • Atlantic tarpon 79

    5 kt NEL 1:37 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:02 PM · 1.8 ft

  • Legare Anchorage

    Channel · 2.2 mi

    84
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 84
    • Common snook 81
    • King mackerel 79

    5 kt NEL 11:06 AM · 0.6 ftH 5:12 PM · 3.0 ft

  • Lewis Cut

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    82
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 82
    • Crevalle jack 80
    • Red drum 75

    5 kt NEL 12:40 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:32 PM · 2.0 ft

  • Bache Shoal

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    79
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 79
    • Crevalle jack 77
    • King mackerel 73

    5 kt NEL 11:06 AM · 0.6 ftH 5:12 PM · 3.0 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.