Waterlands

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King mackerelRetention open

Cape · Florida

Chevelier Point

25.72°N · 81.22°W · Cape · Bayside and Gulfside from Craig Key to West End of Seven Mile Bridge

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Best score today · 8 AM · King mackerel

74/100Great
Now
351 PM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing4.3 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide4.3 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward E
Wind3 kn Sgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 3 s
Air temp82°Warm
WeatherOvercast75% chance of rain
Water85°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)

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. FWC applies the Gulf king mackerel rules to all of Monroe County. 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 Retention open (1 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Check regulations
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
  • Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish 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 Catch & release (No retention)
  • 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

Out of season for King mackerel · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks

King mackerel season by week of the year. Out of season for King mackerel · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

King mackerel in Florida

Spot profile

Chevelier Point

Depth
Up to 5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Off seasonKing mackerel

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 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 Chevelier Point

Chevelier Point is a cape in Bayside and Gulfside from Craig Key to West End of Seven Mile Bridge, Florida. Depth is up to 5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, bonefish and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for bonefish, Atlantic tarpon, permit and red drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Bonefish peak from March through May and from October through November. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September 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.
Common snook
Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
Bonefish
Bonefish push onto shallow sand and grass flats with the rising tide to root for shrimp, crabs and clams, often in water under 2 feet deep, and fall back to channel edges and deeper flats as the tide drops. Most fish are sight cast to with a small shrimp or crab fly, a light jig or a live shrimp, which takes bright sun, light wind and a quiet approach. They are catch and release only in Florida, and in Hawaii many anglers also fish bait from shore along sand channels and reef edges.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Wilderness Waterway

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    74
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 74
    • Bonefish 71
    • Crevalle jack 68

    3 kt SL 7:13 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:42 AM · 4.1 ft

  • Deer Island Creek

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    73
    Top: BonefishShoulder season
    • Bonefish 73
    • Common snook 69
    • Crevalle jack 68

    3 kt SL 7:13 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:42 AM · 4.1 ft

  • Chevelier Bay

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    73
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 73
    • Bonefish 69
    • Crevalle jack 68

    3 kt SL 7:13 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:42 AM · 4.1 ft

  • Last Huston Bay

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    73
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 73
    • Bonefish 68
    • Crevalle jack 68

    3 kt SL 7:13 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:42 AM · 4.1 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.