Waterlands

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Spanish mackerelRetention open

Bay · Florida

Big Bayou

29.67°N · 85.13°W · Bay · Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM

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Best score today · 8 PM · Spanish mackerel

74/100Great
Now
517 AM EDT
Best window
5-10 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High1.5 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: Sun · 82

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score51Good
Tide1.5 ftHigh
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward ESE
Wind6 kn NEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy55% cloud
Water87°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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 Retention open (1 per day)
  • 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Spanish mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for Spanish mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Spanish mackerel in Florida →

Spot profile

Big Bayou

Depth
1-2 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 Big Bayou

Big Bayou is a bay in Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, Florida pompano and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, southern flounder, Atlantic tarpon and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. 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.
Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Saint Vincent Sound

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    71
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Florida pompano 63
    • Red drum 61

    6 kt NEL 10:47 AM · 1.4 ftH 3:04 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Sheepshead Bayou

    Bay · 2.6 mi

    65
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 65
    • Atlantic croaker 60
    • Southern flounder 58

    6 kt NEL 8:15 AM · 1.3 ftH 1:29 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Paradise Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    62
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 62
    • Atlantic croaker 61
    • Atlantic tarpon 58

    6 kt NEL 8:15 AM · 1.3 ftH 1:29 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Saint Vincent Point

    Cape · 3.4 mi

    62
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 62
    • Atlantic croaker 61
    • Atlantic tarpon 58

    6 kt NEL 8:15 AM · 1.3 ftH 1:29 PM · 1.6 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.