Waterlands

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Greater amberjackRetention open

Bar · Florida

The Rocks

24.94°N · 80.56°W · Bar · Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound

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Best score today · 1 PM · Greater amberjack

70/100Great
Now
359 PM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMNight bite
Tide now
Flooding0.6 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Fri · 75

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 PM · now

Time9PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide0.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind1 kn NNEgusts 4 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 4 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy63% chance of rain
Water87°FModel

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 28 in, fork length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Closed from Apr 1
Other
Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Open January through March and May through December. Closed in April. In Monroe County, FWC applies these Atlantic rules south and east of U.S. Highway 1 (the ocean 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 (10 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (3 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 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Greater amberjack is best here

Out of season for Greater amberjack · shoulder season starts next week

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

Greater amberjack in Florida →

Spot profile

The Rocks

Depth
10-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Ledge · Outer · ExposedLedge · 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 The Rocks

The Rocks is a bar in Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound. Depth is 10-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, gray snapper, permit and red grouper. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September 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.
Atlantic tarpon
Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Cowpens Anchorage

    Channel · 2.2 mi

    69
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 69
    • Atlantic tarpon 67
    • Crevalle jack 66

    1 kt NNEH 9:58 PM · 0.6 ftL 5:04 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Whale Harbor

    Bay · 3.0 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Crevalle jack 65
    • Gray snapper 58

    1 kt NNEL 1:55 AM · 0.2 ftH 7:39 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Hen and Chickens

    Bar · 0.7 mi

    62
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 62
    • Atlantic tarpon 57
    • Crevalle jack 56

    1 kt NNEH 9:58 PM · 0.6 ftL 5:04 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Snake Creek

    Bay · 2.5 mi

    59
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 59
    • Crevalle jack 57
    • Red drum 55

    1 kt NNEL 3:00 AM · 0.3 ftH 8:40 AM · 1.0 ft

Open in the tide map

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.