Waterlands

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Red grouperRetention open

Bay · Florida

Lewis Cut

25.52°N · 80.18°W · Bay · Biscayne Bay

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Best score today · 6 AM · Red grouper

76/100Great
Now
597 AM EST
Best window
7-9 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.0 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Nov 13 · 3 AM

Time3A
Score49Good
Tide1.0 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind8 kn ENEgusts 14 · steady
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherOvercast90% cloud
Water82°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Red grouper

Retention open
Daily limit
3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 20 in, total length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Jan 1
Other
Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. No more than 3 grouper and tilefish combined per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Open May 1 through December 31. Closed January 1 through April 30.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Groupers, 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 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 Red grouper is best here

Shoulder season for Red grouper · 21 more weeks at shoulder

Red grouper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red grouper · 21 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red grouper in Florida →

Spot profile

Lewis Cut

Depth
4-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonRed grouper

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 Lewis Cut

Lewis Cut is a bay in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 4-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Red grouper
Red grouper live on low limestone ledges and potholed live bottom across the West Florida Shelf, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Drift to find hard bottom, then anchor and fish live pinfish, grunts or squid on the bottom with stout conventional tackle. Reel hard right after the bite, because they dive into holes, and use a descending device on fish released from deep water.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Sands Cut

    Channel · 1.8 mi

    78
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 78
    • Crevalle jack 77
    • Red drum 73

    3 kt ESEL 10:36 AM · 0.4 ftH 4:15 PM · 1.8 ft

  • Bowles Bank

    Bar · 1.6 mi

    75
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 75
    • Common snook 73
    • Crevalle jack 72

    3 kt ESEL 9:43 AM · 0.5 ftH 3:47 PM · 2.0 ft

  • Featherbed Bank

    Bar · 3.2 mi

    73
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 73
    • Crevalle jack 70
    • Common snook 69

    3 kt ESEL 10:36 AM · 0.4 ftH 4:15 PM · 1.8 ft

  • Bache Shoal

    Bar · 3.3 mi

    70
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 70
    • Crevalle jack 67
    • King mackerel 65

    3 kt ESEL 8:05 AM · 0.6 ftH 2:25 PM · 2.9 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.