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Spanish mackerelRetention openBar · Florida
Tortugas Bank
24.63°N · 82.93°W · Bar · Gulf of America including Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoal Channel
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 PM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 353 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6-9 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Tortugas Bank scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 3 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
50Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt WPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
46Water temp: 88°F, warmLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
42Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Monroe County state waters (Florida Keys)
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 Closed (No retention)
- 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 Check regulations
- Permit Retention open (1 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish 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 Catch & release (No retention)
- 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)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Spanish mackerel is best here
Out of season for Spanish mackerel · shoulder season starts in 2 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Tortugas Bank
- Depth
- 10-30 ft
- Structure
- Bank · Outer · Exposed
- Season
- Off seasonSpanish mackerel
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Tortugas Bank
Tortugas Bank is a bar in Gulf of America including Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoal Channel, Florida. Depth is 10-30 ft. Its profile reads bank, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, red grouper and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for red grouper, Atlantic tarpon, permit and red drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Red grouper peak from April through June. Crevalle jack peak from April through May and 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.
- Red grouper
- Red grouper live on low limestone ledges and potholed live bottom across the West Florida Shelf, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Drift to find hard bottom, then anchor and fish live pinfish, grunts or squid on the bottom with stout conventional tackle. Reel hard right after the bite, because they dive into holes, and use a descending device on fish released from deep water.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Bird Key Harbor58
Bay · 3.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 58
- Crevalle jack 56
- Atlantic tarpon 49
4 kt WSWH 9:38 PM · 1.6 ftL 2:56 AM · 1.1 ft
- Bird Key Bank57
Bay · 3.0 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 57
- Common snook 54
- Atlantic tarpon 52
4 kt WSWH 9:38 PM · 1.6 ftL 2:56 AM · 1.1 ft
- White Shoal53
Bar · 1.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 53
- Crevalle jack 52
- Atlantic tarpon 51
5 kt WH 9:38 PM · 1.4 ftL 2:34 AM · 0.9 ft
- Brilliant Shoal48
Bar · 3.4 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 48
- Atlantic tarpon 47
- Permit 46
5 kt WH 9:38 PM · 1.6 ftL 2:56 AM · 1.1 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.