Waterlands

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King mackerelRetention open

Bay · Florida

Bayou Texter

30.44°N · 87.19°W · Bay · Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · King mackerel

71/100Great
Now
454 AM CDT
Best window
4 AM-2 PMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding1.2 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

Time4ANOW
Score45Good
Tide1.2 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward E
Wind5 kn NNEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 5 s
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water87°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)

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

Bayou Texter

Depth
3-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Bayou Texter

Bayou Texter is a bay in Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound, Florida. Depth is 3-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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 Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, black drum and crevalle jack. 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

  • Inner Harbor Channel

    Channel · 3.4 mi

    74
    Top: Gray snapperPeak season
    • Gray snapper 74
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Red drum 72

    5 kt NNEH 9:17 AM · 1.6 ftL 7:18 PM · 0.6 ft

  • East Channel

    Channel · 3.8 mi

    74
    Top: Gray snapperPeak season
    • Gray snapper 74
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Red drum 72

    5 kt NNEH 9:17 AM · 1.6 ftL 7:18 PM · 0.6 ft

  • West Channel

    Channel · 4.1 mi

    74
    Top: Gray snapperPeak season
    • Gray snapper 74
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Red drum 72

    5 kt NNEH 9:17 AM · 1.6 ftL 7:18 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Pensacola Bay

    Bay · 3.9 mi

    73
    Top: Gray snapperPeak season
    • Gray snapper 73
    • Red drum 71
    • Atlantic croaker 68

    5 kt NNEH 9:17 AM · 1.6 ftL 7:18 PM · 0.6 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.