Waterlands

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Black sea bassShoulder season

Cape · Florida

Cape Cod

28.25°N · 80.67°W · Cape · Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

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Best score today · 3 PM · Black sea bass

74/100Great
Now
5810 AM EDT
Best window
2 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score58Good
Tide1.6 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NE
Wind3 kn NNWgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 8 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy52% cloud
Water83°FObserved

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 Catch & release (No retention)
  • 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 Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open (50 per day)
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (2 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 Black sea bass is best here

Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder

Black sea bass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black sea bass in Florida

Spot profile

Cape Cod

Depth
3-9 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Outer · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder 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 Cape Cod

Cape Cod is a cape in Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 3-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, Atlantic tarpon and king mackerel, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, black drum, little tunny and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

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.
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

  • Indian River Lagoon

    Bay · 3.2 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Spot 73
    • Crevalle jack 72

    3 kt NNWL 12:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 6:09 PM · 4.1 ft

  • Plover Point

    Cape · 2.3 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Common snook 69
    • King mackerel 68

    3 kt NNWL 12:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 6:09 PM · 4.1 ft

  • Mangrove Point

    Cape · 2.8 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Common snook 69
    • King mackerel 68

    3 kt NNWL 12:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 6:09 PM · 4.1 ft

  • Buck Point

    Cape · 3.2 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Common snook 69
    • King mackerel 68

    3 kt NNWL 12:03 PM · 0.9 ftH 6:09 PM · 4.1 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.