Waterlands

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King mackerelRetention open

Bar · Florida

Quarantine Rocks

26.71°N · 82.25°W · Bar · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 10 PM · King mackerel

80/100Great
Now
626 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.4 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: today · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score62Good
Tide0.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.8 kn · toward WSW
Wind3 kn Egusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 4 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% chance of rain
Water85°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

Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder

King mackerel season by week of the year. Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

King mackerel in Florida →

Spot profile

Quarantine Rocks

Depth
6-20 ftSlope
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · slope
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 Quarantine Rocks

Quarantine Rocks is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 6-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

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.
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.
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

View all on map →
  • Pelican Pass

    Channel · 0.9 mi

    77
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 77
    • Atlantic tarpon 70
    • Red drum 69

    3 kt EH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Pelican Bay

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    74
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 74
    • Red drum 68
    • Gray snapper 67

    3 kt EH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Boca Grande

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    73
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 73
    • Red drum 69
    • Atlantic tarpon 69

    3 kt EH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Primo Point

    Cape · 2.3 mi

    69
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 69
    • Red drum 64
    • Gray snapper 63

    3 kt EH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 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.