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Greater amberjackRetention openBar · Florida
Cape Haze Reef
26.78°N · 82.15°W · Bar · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker73
- Common snook59
- Florida pompano59
- Red drum59
- Gray snapper58
- Black drum51
- Red snapper49
- Gag grouper48
- Permit48
- Spanish mackerel48
- Atlantic tarpon47
- Gray triggerfish47
- Red grouper46
- King mackerel45
- Southern flounder44
- Spotted seatrout42
- Greater amberjack41
- Crevalle jack39
- Cobia37
- Sheepshead34
Best score today · 6 PM · Greater amberjack
- Now
- 412 AM EDT
- Best window
- 4-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High1.5 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cape Haze Reef 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 · 2 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
7Tide: High slackCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
48Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Greater amberjack
Species seasonality
63Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Greater amberjack
Retention open- Daily limit
- 1 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 34 in, fork length
- Season
- Sep 1 to Oct 13, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Oct 14
- Other
- Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. FWC set the 2026 Gulf season to September 1 through October 13 by executive order, matching the federal season.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Amberjack, read Sep 13
Other species here
- Atlantic croaker Retention open
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (10 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 Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Catch & release (No retention)
- Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Greater amberjack is best here
Shoulder season for Greater amberjack · 9 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Cape Haze Reef
- Depth
- 2-7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonGreater amberjack
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 Haze Reef
Cape Haze Reef is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 2-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads reef, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, red snapper and gag grouper. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- Greater amberjack
- Amberjack school around wrecks, oil rigs, towers and high-relief reefs in 60 to 250 feet, often suspended well above the bottom. Drop a live blue runner or work a heavy jig through the school, then pump hard, because a big AJ runs straight back into the structure. Heavy conventional gear with 50 to 80 pound line is standard.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
- 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
- The Cutoff73
Channel · 2.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 73
- Common snook 65
- Red drum 60
4 kt ESEL 6:57 AM · 1.0 ftH 12:51 PM · 1.8 ft
- Charlotte Harbor72
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Common snook 65
- Florida pompano 57
4 kt ESEL 6:57 AM · 1.0 ftH 12:51 PM · 1.8 ft
- Cape Haze Bay70
Bay · 0.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Common snook 64
- Florida pompano 56
4 kt ESEL 6:57 AM · 1.0 ftH 12:51 PM · 1.8 ft
- Turtle Bay70
Bay · 2.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Common snook 64
- Florida pompano 56
4 kt ESEL 6:57 AM · 1.0 ftH 12:51 PM · 1.8 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.