Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

King mackerelRetention open

Bar · Florida

Cutter Bank

25.36°N · 80.27°W · Bar · Biscayne Bay

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · King mackerel

75/100Great
Now
736 AM EST
Best window
6-10 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.3 ft ▼

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

Notify me when Cutter Bank scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Nov 4 · 8 AM

Time8A
Score76Great
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward ESE
Wind4 kn NEgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.3 ft · 4 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy20% cloud
Water80°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

King mackerel

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 24 in, fork length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Hook and line and spearing only. Open year-round.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: King Mackerel, 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)
  • 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 King mackerel is best here

Peak season for King mackerel · 21 more weeks at peak

King mackerel season by week of the year. Peak season for King mackerel · 21 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

King mackerel in Florida →

Spot profile

Cutter Bank

Depth
4-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bank · Inner · Semi-exposedBank · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonKing mackerel

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 Cutter Bank

Cutter Bank is a bar in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 4-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bank, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are king mackerel, common snook and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for king mackerel, common snook, crevalle jack and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, greater amberjack and little tunny. King mackerel peak from November through March. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Florida pompano peak from December through March.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Broad Creek

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    79
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 79
    • Crevalle jack 77
    • Red drum 76

    5 kt ESEL 11:31 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:09 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Linderman Creek

    Gut · 1.5 mi

    78
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 78
    • Crevalle jack 76
    • Red drum 76

    5 kt ESEL 11:30 AM · 0.4 ftH 5:37 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Old Rhodes Channel

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    77
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 77
    • Crevalle jack 76
    • Red drum 73

    5 kt ESEL 11:31 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:09 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Jones Lagoon

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    76
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 76
    • Red drum 76
    • Common snook 72

    5 kt ESEL 11:31 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:09 PM · 1.5 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.