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Spanish mackerelRetention openGut · Florida
Little Alligator Creek
26.98°N · 82.12°W · Gut · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker78
- Common snook76
- Red drum73
- Gray snapper69
- Atlantic tarpon66
- Permit65
- Southern flounder65
- Black drum63
- Crevalle jack61
- Spanish mackerel60
- Florida pompano59
- Gag grouper57
- Spotted seatrout57
- Gray triggerfish55
- King mackerel54
- Red grouper54
- Red snapper54
- Greater amberjack49
- Cobia48
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 11 AM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 6012 PM EDT
- Best window
- 12-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Little Alligator Creek 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 12 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
62Tide: FloodingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt NNEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
87Water temp: 84°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.8 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
55Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier 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
- 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 Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper 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)
- 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)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Spanish mackerel is best here
Shoulder season for Spanish mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Little Alligator Creek
- Depth
- 4-5 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · 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 Little Alligator Creek
Little Alligator Creek is a gut in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 4-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, southern flounder and black drum. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak 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 croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
- 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
- Lewis Creek78
Channel · 1.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 78
- Common snook 76
- Red drum 73
4 kt NNEH 1:13 PM · 2.1 ftL 8:26 PM · 0.4 ft
- Alligator Bay75
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 75
- Atlantic croaker 74
- Gray snapper 68
4 kt NNEH 1:13 PM · 2.1 ftL 8:26 PM · 0.4 ft
- Muddy Bay74
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Red drum 73
- Common snook 71
4 kt NNEH 1:13 PM · 2.1 ftL 8:26 PM · 0.4 ft
- Grassy Point73
Cape · 2.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 73
- Atlantic croaker 68
- Gray snapper 66
4 kt NNEH 1:35 PM · 2.1 ftL 9:01 PM · 0.5 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.