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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 AM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 564 PM EST
- Best window
- 6-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Biscayne 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
Thursday, Nov 5 · 4 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
90Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.5 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
89Water temp: 81°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.2 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
60Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade 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 (50 per day)
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (3 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 (10 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
- Permit Retention open (1 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
- Red snapper Check regulations
- 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 (50 per day)
- 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 Spanish mackerel is best here
Shoulder season for Spanish mackerel · 3 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Biscayne Bay
- Depth
- About 10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonSpanish 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 Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay is a bay in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is about 10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are common snook, Florida pompano and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook, crevalle jack, king mackerel and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Florida pompano peak from December through March. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and from September 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Featherbed Bank72
Bar · 3.7 mi
Top: King mackerelPeak season- King mackerel 72
- Common snook 71
- Crevalle jack 69
7 kt EH 5:16 PM · 1.8 ftL 12:16 AM · 0.3 ft
- Black Ledge70
Bar · 1.2 mi
Top: King mackerelPeak season- King mackerel 70
- Florida pompano 67
- Common snook 65
7 kt EH 4:39 PM · 2.6 ftL 11:20 PM · 0.8 ft
- Deering Bay Channel68
Channel · 4.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 68
- Crevalle jack 64
- Red drum 61
7 kt EH 4:39 PM · 2.6 ftL 11:20 PM · 0.8 ft
- Safety Valve67
Gut · 4.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 67
- Crevalle jack 63
- Red drum 62
7 kt EL 11:06 PM · 0.4 ftH 4:54 AM · 2.3 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.