Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

King mackerelRetention open

Channel · Florida

Shell Pass

26.70°N · 82.15°W · Channel · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 PM · King mackerel

83/100Great
Now
6910 AM EST
Best window
5-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.3 ft ▼

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

Notify me when Shell Pass 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: Wed · 85

24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 7 · 11 AM

Time11A
Score67Great
Tide1.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.7 kn · toward E
Wind2 kn NNEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.3 ft · 3 s
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherClear14% cloud
Water80°FModel

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 Closed (No retention)
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
  • 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 Closed (No retention)
  • Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
  • Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
  • Snook Retention open (1 per day)
  • Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
  • 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 · 4 more weeks at shoulder

King mackerel season by week of the year. Shoulder season for King mackerel · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

King mackerel in Florida →

Spot profile

Shell Pass

Depth
4-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Shell Pass

Shell Pass is a channel in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 4-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, common snook and spotted seatrout. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout, red drum and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, king mackerel and gray snapper. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Spotted seatrout peak from March 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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Big Jim Creek

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    77
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 77
    • Spotted seatrout 76
    • Spanish mackerel 69

    9 kt EL 3:30 PM · 0.2 ftH 10:25 PM · 1.4 ft

  • Jug Creek

    Bay · 0.2 mi

    75
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 75
    • Spotted seatrout 74
    • Spanish mackerel 70

    9 kt EL 2:52 PM · 0.3 ftH 10:55 PM · 1.3 ft

  • Jug Creek Point Shoal

    Bar · 1.3 mi

    75
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 75
    • Spotted seatrout 69
    • Black drum 68

    9 kt EL 2:52 PM · 0.3 ftH 10:55 PM · 1.3 ft

  • Back Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    74
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 74
    • Common snook 72
    • Red drum 72

    9 kt EL 2:52 PM · 0.3 ftH 10:55 PM · 1.3 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.