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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook67
- Atlantic tarpon66
- Atlantic croaker64
- Crevalle jack64
- Spotted seatrout63
- Summer flounder63
- Southern flounder62
- Spot61
- King mackerel60
- Red drum60
- Gray snapper59
- Weakfish57
- Little tunny56
- Spanish mackerel54
- Florida pompano53
- Black drum52
- Cobia51
- Black sea bass50
- Sheepshead49
- Gag grouper44
- Red snapper43
- Gray triggerfish42
- Red grouper42
- Greater amberjack41
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 9 AM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 546 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6 PM-12 AMNight bite
Data from: ECMWF · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Whiddens Pass 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 · 6 PM · now
- —
Tide & current
Wind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
74Light: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
71Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
- Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
- Crevalle jack Retention open
- Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Southern flounder Retention open (5 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
Shoulder season for Spanish mackerel · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Whiddens Pass
- Depth
- About 3 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposed
- Season
- Shoulder 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 Whiddens Pass
Whiddens Pass is a channel in Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is about 3 ft. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic tarpon, Atlantic croaker and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for weakfish, little tunny, Spanish mackerel and Florida pompano. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October.
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 tarpon
- Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Brice Fine Pass67
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 67
- Crevalle jack 64
- Atlantic tarpon 58
5 kt E
- Dynamite Pass66
Gut · 4.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 66
- Crevalle jack 63
- Atlantic tarpon 56
5 kt E
- Cochrans Pass66
Channel · 4.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 66
- Crevalle jack 63
- Atlantic tarpon 56
5 kt E
- Observation Shoal59
Bar · 3.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 59
- Crevalle jack 55
- Atlantic tarpon 49
5 kt E
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.