Waterlands

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Spanish mackerelRetention open

Bay · Florida

Big Bayou

28.24°N · 82.75°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM

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Best score today · 8 PM · Spanish mackerel

77/100Great
Now
6112 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.5 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 · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score61Good
Tide3.5 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind5 kn NEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp84°Hot
WeatherMostly cloudy52% chance of rain
Water86°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 (5 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 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
Up to 1 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 Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is up to 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for permit, Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. 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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Sand Bay

    Bay · 2.3 mi

    75
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 75
    • Red drum 74
    • Atlantic croaker 72

    5 kt NEL 5:40 PM · 0.7 ftH 11:37 PM · 3.0 ft

  • Fillmans Creek

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    74
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 74
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Red drum 72

    5 kt NEL 6:00 PM · 0.7 ftH 11:47 PM · 3.2 ft

  • Ben Pilot Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    74
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 74
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Red drum 72

    5 kt NEL 6:00 PM · 0.7 ftH 11:47 PM · 3.2 ft

  • Big Bayou Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Common snook 71
    • Florida pompano 66

    5 kt NEL 6:28 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:18 AM · 3.1 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.