Waterlands

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Spanish mackerelPeak season

Bay · Alabama

Perdido Bay

30.38°N · 87.43°W · Bay · Perdido Bay Area

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Best score today · 7 AM · Spanish mackerel

77/100Great
Now
564 AM CST
Best window
7-10 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Nov 10 · 6 AM

Time6A
Score81Great
Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.5 kn · toward WSW
Wind5 kn NEgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 3 s
Air temp48°Cool
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water74°FModel

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

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 Florida pompano, gag grouper and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, gag grouper, Spanish mackerel and red drum, and shoulder season for gray snapper, sheepshead, king mackerel and red snapper. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Gag grouper peak from October through December. Spanish mackerel peak from April 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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Old River

    Bay · 6.6 mi

    65
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 65
    • Red drum 62
    • Spanish mackerel 58

    8 kt EH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ftL 4:23 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Chagrin Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    62
    Top: Gag grouperPeak season
    • Gag grouper 62
    • Florida pompano 60
    • Spanish mackerel 57

    8 kt EH 7:54 AM · 0.8 ftL 7:23 PM · 0.1 ft

  • Manuel Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    60
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 60
    • Gag grouper 59
    • Red drum 59

    8 kt EH 6:38 AM · 0.6 ftL 5:29 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Point Ono

    Cape · 5.4 mi

    60
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 60
    • Red drum 58
    • Gag grouper 57

    8 kt EH 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.