Waterlands

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Black sea bassPeak season

Channel · Florida

Fox Cut

29.55°N · 81.17°W · Channel · Coastal waters from St. Augustine to Flagler Beach FL out 20 NM

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Best score today · 6 PM · Florida pompano

80/100Great
Now
6611 PM EST
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Nov 3 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score81Great
Tide0.9 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SSE
Wind7 kn Egusts 13 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.8 ft · 7 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherClear6% cloud
Water75°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Black sea bass is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with FWC before you keep a fish.

Species rules 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 (2 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Black sea bass is best here

Peak season for Black sea bass · 4 more weeks at peak

Black sea bass season by week of the year. Peak season for Black sea bass · 4 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black sea bass in Florida →

Spot profile

Fox Cut

Depth
5-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonBlack sea bass

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 Fox Cut

Fox Cut is a channel in Coastal waters from St. Augustine to Flagler Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 5-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are black sea bass, weakfish and bluefish. It is peak season now for black sea bass, weakfish, bluefish and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spot, king mackerel and black drum. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November. Weakfish peak from October through November. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December.

Tackle & technique

Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
Weakfish
Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.
Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Murat Point

    Cape · 17 mi

    66
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 66
    • Red drum 65
    • Bluefish 63

    8 kt ENEH 2:56 AM · 4.5 ftL 9:20 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Matanzas Inlet

    Channel · 12 mi

    65
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 65
    • Black sea bass 64
    • Bluefish 64

    8 kt ENEH 1:54 AM · 3.7 ftL 8:14 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Devils Elbow

    Bend · 14 mi

    65
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 65
    • Black sea bass 64
    • Bluefish 62

    8 kt ENEH 2:56 AM · 4.5 ftL 9:20 AM · 0.9 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.