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Common snookRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Common snook
- Now
- 787 AM EST
- Best window
- 7-9 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cape Florida 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.7 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
81Water temp: 81°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Major periodSeas: 2.8 ftSeason & habitat · Common snook
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
Snook
Retention open- Daily limit
- 1 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Slot 28 to 32 in, total length
- Season
- Sep 1 to Dec 14, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Catch & release from Dec 15
- Other
- Snook permit and saltwater fishing license required. Must stay whole until landed ashore. For-hire captain and crew may not keep a bag limit. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line only. Closed December 15 through January 31 and June 1 through August 31. Open February 1 through May 31 and September 1 through December 14. Regional rules apply in inland, state and adjacent federal waters.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Snook, 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 (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)
- 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 Common snook is best here
Peak season for Common snook · 3 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cape Florida
- Depth
- 7-20 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonCommon snook
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 Cape Florida
Cape Florida is a cape in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 7-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are common snook, crevalle jack and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for common snook, crevalle jack, king mackerel and red drum, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon, gray snapper and little tunny. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September through November. Spanish mackerel peak from December through March.
Tackle & technique
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Cape Florida Anchorage80
Channel · 0.2 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 80
- Common snook 79
- King mackerel 77
6 kt ESEL 9:54 AM · 0.5 ftH 4:02 PM · 2.5 ft
- Cape Florida Channel79
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 79
- Crevalle jack 79
- Atlantic tarpon 73
6 kt ESEL 9:54 AM · 0.5 ftH 4:02 PM · 2.5 ft
- Biscayne Channel79
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 79
- Crevalle jack 79
- Atlantic tarpon 73
6 kt ESEL 9:54 AM · 0.5 ftH 4:02 PM · 2.5 ft
- South Basin79
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 79
- Common snook 78
- King mackerel 71
6 kt ESEL 10:48 AM · 0.5 ftH 4:35 PM · 2.4 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.