Waterlands

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Spanish mackerelRetention open

Cape · Florida

Ott Point

25.44°N · 80.20°W · Cape · Biscayne Bay

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Best score today · 9 AM · Spanish mackerel

72/100Great
Now
307 PM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High1.6 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Sep 29 · 9 AM

Time9A
Score35Fair
Tide0.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.3 kn · toward NW
Wind4 kn Ngusts 6 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 8 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy32% chance of rain
Water87°FPersisted

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

Ott Point

Depth
1-5 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
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 Ott Point

Ott Point is a cape in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are bonefish, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for bonefish, Atlantic tarpon, permit and red grouper. Bonefish peak from March through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June.

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.
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.
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

  • Sea Grape Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Crevalle jack 63
    • Atlantic tarpon 61

    2 kt ENEL 10:40 PM · 1.2 ftH 4:25 AM · 2.4 ft

  • Point Adelle

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    51
    Top: BonefishShoulder season
    • Bonefish 51
    • Common snook 50
    • Crevalle jack 48

    2 kt ENEL 1:29 AM · 0.8 ftH 6:47 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Coon Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    51
    Top: BonefishShoulder season
    • Bonefish 51
    • Common snook 50
    • Crevalle jack 48

    2 kt ENEL 1:41 AM · 0.8 ftH 6:45 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Margot Fish Shoal

    Bar · 2.0 mi

    50
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 50
    • Crevalle jack 48
    • Atlantic tarpon 48

    2 kt ENEL 1:29 AM · 0.8 ftH 6:47 AM · 1.7 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.