Waterlands

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King mackerelRetention open

Cape · Florida

Live Oak Point

30.43°N · 86.25°W · Cape · Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay

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Best score today · 6 AM · King mackerel

73/100Great
Now
4911 AM CDT
Best window
3-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score49Good
Tide0.8 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind5 kn ENEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.2 ft · 5 s
Air temp84°Hot
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water84°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 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)

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

Live Oak Point

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Live Oak Point

Live Oak Point is a cape in Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for permit, Atlantic tarpon, gag grouper and gray triggerfish. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. 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.
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.
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

  • Motes Point

    Cape · 4.1 mi

    73
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 73
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Permit 67

    5 kt ENEL 8:20 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:53 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Alaqua Bayou

    Bay · 4.8 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Red drum 71
    • Gray snapper 64

    5 kt ENEL 8:20 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:53 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Hogtown Bayou

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    71
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Red drum 70
    • Gray snapper 64

    5 kt ENEL 8:20 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:53 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Grassy Cove

    Bay · 5.5 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Gray snapper 68
    • Red drum 66

    5 kt ENEL 7:37 PM · 0.4 ftH 8:15 AM · 0.9 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.