Waterlands

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King mackerelRetention open

Channel · Florida

Rocky Channel

26.63°N · 82.17°W · Channel · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 11 PM · King mackerel

85/100Epic
Now
639 AM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.5 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: Thu · 86

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score63Good
Tide1.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.6 kn · toward ENE
Wind3 kn Egusts 6 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.2 ft · 4 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy61% cloud
Water83°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 yesterday

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

Rocky Channel

Depth
3-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 Rocky Channel

Rocky Channel is a channel in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 3-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack, southern flounder and Spanish mackerel. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Red drum peak from September 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 →
  • Orange Pass

    Channel · 1.8 mi

    87
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 87
    • Red drum 81
    • Gray snapper 78

    3 kt EH 12:10 PM · 2.1 ftL 8:00 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Wilson Cut

    Channel · 2.2 mi

    84
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 84
    • Gray snapper 78
    • Red drum 77

    3 kt EH 12:10 PM · 2.1 ftL 8:00 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Foster Bayou

    Bay · 2.1 mi

    81
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 81
    • Common snook 79
    • Gray snapper 73

    3 kt EH 12:10 PM · 2.1 ftL 8:00 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Captiva Shoal

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    78
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 78
    • Spanish mackerel 73
    • Florida pompano 72

    5 kt ESEH 10:51 AM · 2.2 ftL 6:06 PM · 0.5 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.