Waterlands

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Spanish mackerelPeak season

Cape · Alabama

Manuel Point

30.36°N · 87.46°W · Cape · Perdido Bay Area

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Best score today · 6 AM · Spanish mackerel

70/100Great
Now
6011 AM CST
Best window
11 AM-5 PMMoving water
Tide now
Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score60Good
Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.4 knmodeled · toward WSW
Wind10 kn ESEgusts 21 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.8 ft · 5 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherOvercast32% chance of rain
Water73°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Spanish mackerel

Retention open
Daily limit
15 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 12 in, fork length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Beach or haul seine, cast net, hook and line, or spear. Open year-round.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Spanish Mackerel, 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)
  • Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
  • 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 Closed (No retention)
  • 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)
  • Spot Retention open
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Spanish mackerel is best here

Peak season for Spanish mackerel · 2 more weeks at peak

Spanish mackerel season by week of the year. Peak season for Spanish mackerel · 2 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Spanish mackerel in Alabama →

Spot profile

Manuel Point

Depth
1-7 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonSpanish mackerel

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 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 Manuel Point

Manuel Point is a cape in Perdido Bay Area, Alabama. Depth in the nearest water is 1-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are gag grouper, Spanish mackerel and red drum. It is peak season now for gag grouper, Spanish mackerel, red drum and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for king mackerel, gray triggerfish, red grouper and red snapper. Gag grouper peak from October through December. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November.

Tackle & technique

Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
Gag grouper
Gag hold on ledges, rock piles and wrecks, from 15 to 40 feet in the fall on Florida's Gulf coast out to 250 feet the rest of the year. Troll deep-diving plugs to find productive rocks, then anchor and drop or freeline live pinfish or pigfish on a strong circle hook. Keep the drag tight and turn the fish in the first few seconds or it will reach the rocks.
Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Point Ono

    Cape · 3.9 mi

    67
    Top: Gag grouperPeak season
    • Gag grouper 67
    • Spanish mackerel 62
    • Red drum 61

    10 kt ESEL 4:23 PM · 0.3 ftH 7:04 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Bellville Bay

    Bay · 4.6 mi

    67
    Top: Gag grouperPeak season
    • Gag grouper 67
    • Spanish mackerel 66
    • Red drum 65

    10 kt ESEL 4:23 PM · 0.3 ftH 7:04 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Perdido Bay

    Bay · 2.4 mi

    66
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 66
    • Florida pompano 63
    • Gag grouper 63

    10 kt ESEL 5:29 PM · 0.3 ftH 7:23 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Chagrin Point

    Cape · 3.2 mi

    66
    Top: Gag grouperPeak season
    • Gag grouper 66
    • Florida pompano 62
    • Spanish mackerel 61

    10 kt ESEL 7:23 PM · 0.1 ftH 9:20 AM · 0.6 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.