Waterlands

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Greater amberjackRetention open

Bar · Florida

Dave Foy Bank

25.11°N · 80.90°W · Bar · Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound

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Best score today · 11 AM · Greater amberjack

78/100Great
Now
354 PM EDT
Best window
5-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide2.7 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward E
Wind4 kn Wgusts 10 · easing
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy98% chance of rain
Water84°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)

IN EFFECT NOW

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. In Monroe County, FWC applies these Gulf rules north and west of U.S. Highway 1 (Florida Bay and the bay side of the Keys).

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 Closed (No retention)
  • 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 Check regulations
  • 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 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Greater amberjack is best here

Out of season for Greater amberjack · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks

Greater amberjack season by week of the year. Out of season for Greater amberjack · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Greater amberjack in Florida

Spot profile

Dave Foy Bank

Depth
2-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bank · Inner · Semi-exposedBank · flat bottom
Season
Off 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 Dave Foy Bank

Dave Foy Bank is a bar in Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound. Depth is 2-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bank, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, permit and bonefish. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for permit, bonefish, red drum and Atlantic tarpon. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Permit peak from March through June. Bonefish 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.
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.
Permit
Permit cruise flat edges and channels in 2 to 6 feet of water in the Keys and Biscayne Bay, and school over wrecks and reefs in 30 to 120 feet, especially during the spring spawn. A live or artificial crab is the standard bait, cast ahead of a tailing fish on the flats or dropped to a school on a wreck. They spook easily in shallow water, so good light and a long, quiet cast are needed.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Joe Kemp Channel

    Channel · 0.8 mi

    73
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 73
    • Crevalle jack 70
    • Atlantic tarpon 66

    4 kt WL 10:04 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:37 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Snake Bight Channel

    Channel · 3.3 mi

    73
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 73
    • Crevalle jack 71
    • Atlantic tarpon 67

    4 kt WL 10:04 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:37 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Conchie Basin

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    70
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 70
    • Common snook 67
    • Permit 67

    4 kt WL 10:04 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:37 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Christian Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 67
    • Permit 67
    • Bonefish 65

    4 kt WL 10:04 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:37 AM · 2.5 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.