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Best score today · 6 PM · Spanish mackerel

66/100Great

Now: 329 AM EDT
Best window: 1-11 PMDusk

Data from: ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Wed · 67

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time9ANOW

Score32Fair

Current2.6 knmodeled · toward NNE

Wind12 kn SSWgusts 18 · steady

Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 3 s

Air temp82°Warm

WeatherOvercast93% chance of rain

Water87°FModel

TUE · SEP 22

WED · SEP 23

6A

7A

8A

NOW

10A

11A

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

12A

1A

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5A

25

31

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29

32

33

35

30

27

25

23

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29

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.8

2.6

2.5

2.3

2.2

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1813

1812

1712

1612

1511

1410

139

149

148

138

139

1411

1612

1814

1914

2013

2011

199

187

1.6

1.5

1.4

1.5

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

1.6

1.5

1.4

87%

90%

92%

93%

94%

92%

86%

78%

73%

76%

78%

80%

82%

77%

70%

65%

64%

65%

67%

68%

70%

73%

87°

86°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Special Permit Zone (SPZ)

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

Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
Crevalle jack Retention open
Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
Permit Retention open (1 per day)
Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

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

Peak
Shoulder
Off
This week

Spanish mackerel in Florida →

Spot profile

Straits of Florida

Depth: 2,700-2,800 ft
Structure: Channel · Outer · Exposed
Season: Off seasonSpanish mackerel

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Straits of Florida

Straits of Florida is a channel in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 2,700-2,800 ft. Its profile reads channel, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, gray snapper, red drum and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Crevalle jack 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.
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.
Crevalle jack: Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.