Waterlands

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Spanish mackerelRetention open

Channel · Florida

Caesar Creek

25.39°N · 80.23°W · Channel · Biscayne Bay

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Best score today · 8 AM · Spanish mackerel

76/100Great
Now
357 PM EDT
Best window
7-11 PMNight bite
Tide now
Ebbing1.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Sep 21 · 9 AM

Time9A
Score35Fair
Tide1.2 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward ESE
Wind1 kn Wgusts 5 · building
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy47% chance of rain
Water89°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade 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 (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 Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spot Retention open (50 per day)
  • 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 Spanish mackerel is best here

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

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

Spanish mackerel in Florida

Spot profile

Caesar Creek

Depth
4-15 ftSlope
Structure
Estuary · Outer · ExposedEstuary · slope
Season
Off 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 Caesar Creek

Caesar Creek is a channel in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 4-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads estuary, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are Atlantic tarpon, common snook and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, bonefish and red drum. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. 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.
Atlantic tarpon
Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Pacific Reef Channel

    Channel · 1.3 mi

    63
    Top: Atlantic tarponShoulder season
    • Atlantic tarpon 63
    • Common snook 62
    • Crevalle jack 58

    2 kt ENEL 11:22 PM · 1.2 ftH 5:03 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Hurricane Creek

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    58
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 58
    • Common snook 57
    • Atlantic tarpon 55

    2 kt ENEL 11:22 PM · 1.2 ftH 5:03 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Caesar Creek Bank

    Bar · 1.2 mi

    57
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 57
    • Atlantic tarpon 55
    • Red grouper 54

    2 kt ENEL 11:22 PM · 1.2 ftH 5:03 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Jones Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    50
    Top: BonefishShoulder season
    • Bonefish 50
    • Common snook 50
    • Crevalle jack 48

    2 kt ENEL 2:05 AM · 0.7 ftH 6:58 AM · 1.5 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.