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King mackerelShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 6 AM · King mackerel
- Now
- 556 PM CST
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood current
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.2 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
Friday, Nov 6 · 3 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.0 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt WPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
89Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
55Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
King mackerel
Retention open- Daily limit
- 3 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 24 in, fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Hook and line and spearing only. Open year-round.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: King 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)
- 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)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When King mackerel is best here
Shoulder season for King mackerel · 3 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Perdido Bay
- Depth
- 6-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonKing 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 red drum, Spanish mackerel and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for red drum, Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and gag grouper, and shoulder season for king mackerel, black drum, sheepshead and gray snapper. Red drum peak from September through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- King mackerel
- Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Old River65
Bay · 6.6 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 65
- Red drum 65
- Spanish mackerel 64
6 kt ENEH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ftL 4:23 PM · 0.3 ft
- Chagrin Point62
Cape · 1.7 mi
Top: Gag grouperPeak season- Gag grouper 62
- Red drum 62
- Spanish mackerel 61
6 kt ENEL 7:05 PM · 0.1 ftH 7:54 AM · 0.8 ft
- Manuel Point61
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 61
- Gag grouper 60
- Spanish mackerel 60
6 kt ENEL 7:00 PM · 0.1 ftH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ft
- Point Ono61
Cape · 5.4 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 61
- Red drum 61
- Gag grouper 60
6 kt ENEH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ftL 4:23 PM · 0.3 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.