Waterlands

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Spanish mackerelRetention open

Bar · Florida

Cutter Bank

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

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Best score today · 7 AM · Spanish mackerel

75/100Great
Now
515 AM EST
Best window
6-10 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 14 · 4 AM

Time4A
Score59Good
Tide1.0 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.7 kn · toward ESE
Wind14 kn Egusts 24 · steady
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water83°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Spanish mackerel

Retention open
Daily limit
15 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 12 in, fork length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Beach or haul seine, cast net, hook and line, or spear. Open year-round.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Spanish 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)
  • 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)
  • 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 Spanish mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for Spanish mackerel · 4 more weeks at shoulder

Spanish mackerel season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Spanish mackerel · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Spanish mackerel in Florida →

Spot profile

Cutter Bank

Depth
4-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bank · Inner · Semi-exposedBank · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSpanish 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 Florida pompano, red drum and common snook. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, king mackerel and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, Spanish mackerel and Atlantic tarpon. Florida pompano peak from December through March. Red drum peak from October through February. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Broad Creek

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    67
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 67
    • Common snook 64
    • Crevalle jack 59

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

  • Jones Lagoon

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    67
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 67
    • Common snook 58
    • Crevalle jack 58

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

  • Old Rhodes Channel

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    64
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 64
    • Common snook 63
    • Crevalle jack 58

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

  • Linderman Creek

    Gut · 1.5 mi

    63
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 63
    • Common snook 60
    • Crevalle jack 56

    6 kt EL 11:30 AM · 0.4 ftH 5:37 PM · 1.1 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.