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Spanish mackerelPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · Florida pompano
- Now
- 6511 AM CST
- Best window
- 11 AM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Perdido Bay scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 11 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.2 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 8 kt EPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
40Water temp: 74°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 4.1 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Perdido Bay
- Depth
- 6-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Perdido Bay
Perdido Bay is a bay in Perdido Bay Area, Alabama. Depth is 6-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, gag grouper and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, gag grouper, Florida pompano and red drum, and shoulder season for king mackerel, sheepshead, gray snapper and gray triggerfish. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Gag grouper peak from October through December. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October 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.
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Manuel Point66
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Gag grouperPeak season- Gag grouper 66
- Red drum 59
- Spanish mackerel 59
8 kt EL 7:00 PM · 0.1 ftH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ft
- Point Ono66
Cape · 5.4 mi
Top: Gag grouperPeak season- Gag grouper 66
- Spanish mackerel 60
- Red drum 59
8 kt EL 5:01 PM · 0.1 ftH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ft
- Old River66
Bay · 6.6 mi
Top: Gag grouperPeak season- Gag grouper 66
- Red drum 64
- Spanish mackerel 64
8 kt EL 5:01 PM · 0.1 ftH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ft
- Chagrin Point65
Cape · 1.7 mi
Top: Gag grouperPeak season- Gag grouper 65
- Spanish mackerel 58
- Florida pompano 57
8 kt EL 7:05 PM · 0.1 ftH 7:54 AM · 0.8 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.