Waterlands

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King mackerelShoulder season

Bay · Alabama

Perdido Bay

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

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Best score today · 5 PM · King mackerel

77/100Great
Now
4512 PM CDT
Best window
3-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score45Good
Tide0.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb2.2 kn · toward WSW
Wind4 kn ENEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.6 ft · 5 s
Air temp88°Hot
WeatherClear3% cloud
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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 Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 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 Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • 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
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When King mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder

King mackerel season by week of the year. Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

King mackerel in Alabama

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 gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, permit, Atlantic tarpon and Spanish mackerel. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.

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.
Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
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

  • Old River

    Bay · 6.6 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Gray snapper 65
    • Red drum 63

    4 kt ENEL 10:29 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:04 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Chagrin Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Gray snapper 59
    • Red drum 57

    4 kt ENEL 10:11 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:51 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Manuel Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Gray snapper 56
    • Red drum 55

    4 kt ENEL 10:11 PM · 0.1 ftH 11:36 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Point Ono

    Cape · 5.4 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Gray snapper 61
    • Red drum 59

    4 kt ENEL 10:29 PM · 0.1 ftH 10:04 AM · 0.7 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.