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Spanish mackerelPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 6611 AM CST
- Best window
- 11 AM-4 PMEbb 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
91Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.8 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
80Wind: 10 kt ESEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
57Water temp: 73°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: 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, Florida pompano and gag grouper. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, gag grouper and red drum, and shoulder season for king mackerel, gray snapper, sheepshead and gray triggerfish. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Gag grouper peak from October through December.
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
- Point Ono67
Cape · 5.4 mi
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
- Old River67
Bay · 6.6 mi
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
- Chagrin Point66
Cape · 1.7 mi
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
- Manuel Point64
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Gag grouperPeak season- Gag grouper 64
- Spanish mackerel 60
- Red drum 59
10 kt ESEL 5:29 PM · 0.3 ftH 7:23 AM · 0.5 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.