Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

King mackerelRetention open

Bar · Florida

Patricio Shoal

26.69°N · 82.21°W · Bar · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · King mackerel

77/100Great
Now
447 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.5 ft

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

Notify me when Patricio Shoal scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Thu · 82

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score44Fair
Tide0.5 ftLow
CurrentEbb0.4 kn · toward WSW
Wind4 kn NEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.6 ft · 4 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy99% chance of rain
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

King mackerel

Retention open
Daily limit
3 per day
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 24 in, fork length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Hook and line and spearing only. Open year-round.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: King 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)
  • 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)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When King mackerel is best here

Last week of shoulder season for King mackerel · peak season next

King mackerel season by week of the year. Last week of shoulder season for King mackerel · peak season next.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

King mackerel in Florida →

Spot profile

Patricio Shoal

Depth
2-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonKing 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 Patricio Shoal

Patricio Shoal is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 2-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
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.
Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Pelican Bay

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    74
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 74
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Gray snapper 69

    4 kt NEH 12:29 AM · 1.4 ftL 5:16 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Punta Blanca

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    70
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 70
    • Gray snapper 65
    • Red drum 64

    4 kt NEH 12:29 AM · 1.4 ftL 5:16 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Old Tom Bayou

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    62
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 62
    • Common snook 61
    • Atlantic croaker 60

    4 kt NEH 1:18 AM · 1.3 ftL 6:12 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Jug Creek Shoal

    Bar · 1.7 mi

    61
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 61
    • Gray snapper 57
    • Spanish mackerel 56

    4 kt NEH 1:18 AM · 1.3 ftL 6:12 AM · 1.0 ft

Open in the tide map

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.