Waterlands

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King mackerelRetention open

Bay · Florida

LaGrange Bayou

30.46°N · 86.15°W · Bay · Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay

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Best score today · 7 AM · King mackerel

78/100Great
Now
4512 AM CDT
Best window
4-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Oct 1 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score53Good
Tide1.0 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind8 kn NNEgusts 16 · steady
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water86°FPersisted

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 Retention open (1 per day)
  • 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)

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

LaGrange Bayou

Depth
3-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · 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 LaGrange Bayou

LaGrange Bayou is a bay in Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 3-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for southern flounder, spotted seatrout, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September.

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.
Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
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

  • Mallet Bayou

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    79
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 79
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Gray snapper 66

    3 kt ENEH 7:53 AM · 0.9 ftL 9:26 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Motes Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    79
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 79
    • Atlantic croaker 66
    • Gray snapper 66

    3 kt ENEH 7:53 AM · 0.9 ftL 9:26 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Jolly Bay

    Bay · 2.9 mi

    74
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 74
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Gray snapper 70

    3 kt ENEH 7:53 AM · 0.9 ftL 9:26 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Wheeler Point

    Cape · 2.2 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Atlantic croaker 66
    • Gray snapper 66

    3 kt ENEH 7:53 AM · 0.9 ftL 9:26 PM · 0.4 ft

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.