Species guide · Florida
Crevalle jack fishing in Florida
Caranx hippos, a nearshore species also called jack crevalle, jack and common jack. Listed for the South Florida and the Keys, Eastern Gulf and South Atlantic regions. Peak season, about 3 more weeks.
Right now it scores best in Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound at 80, one of 31 Florida bay systems where the Waterlands engine is scoring it.
Season now
Peak seasonSeason by month
From the Waterlands saltwater species research: when the fish are present and biting, not whether retention is open.
South Florida and the Keys
Peak season, about 3 more weeks- Jan: Shoulder season
- Feb: Shoulder season
- Mar: Shoulder season
- Apr: Peak season
- May: Peak season
- Jun: Shoulder season
- Jul: Shoulder season
- Aug: Shoulder season
- Sep: Peak season
- Oct: Peak season
- Nov: Peak season
- Dec: Shoulder season
Peak: Apr to May, Sep to Nov. In season (shoulder or peak): all year.
Research notes, South Florida and the Keys region
Present year-round. Big schools push bait in Biscayne Bay, the Everglades and Keys channels, and the Palm Beach coast gets heavy action on the fall mullet run. Seasonality is angler consensus.
Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.
Eastern Gulf
Off season, about 16 more weeks- Jan: Off season
- Feb: Off season
- Mar: Shoulder season
- Apr: Shoulder season
- May: Peak season
- Jun: Peak season
- Jul: Peak season
- Aug: Shoulder season
- Sep: Shoulder season
- Oct: Shoulder season
- Nov: Off season
- Dec: Off season
Peak: May to Jul. In season (shoulder or peak): Mar to Oct.
Research notes, Eastern Gulf region
Warm-season schools in Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor passes and along Panhandle and Alabama beaches. Distribution follows water temperature; fish move south in fall.
Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.
South Atlantic
Shoulder season, changing this week- Jan: Off season
- Feb: Off season
- Mar: Off season
- Apr: Shoulder season
- May: Shoulder season
- Jun: Shoulder season
- Jul: Peak season
- Aug: Peak season
- Sep: Peak season
- Oct: Peak season
- Nov: Off season
- Dec: Off season
Peak: Jul to Oct. In season (shoulder or peak): Apr to Oct.
Research notes, South Atlantic region
SCDNR describes crevalle as summer-only in South Carolina, leaving as water cools in fall. Florida east coast inlets from Jupiter to St. Augustine see big schools on the September and October mullet run.
Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.
Where it's scoring now · 31
Florida bay systems ranked by the Waterlands engine's crevalle jack score this hour.
Best window today 4-8 PM (80) · Best day Sun, Nov 8 at 7 AM (81) · 109 named spots
Best window today 4-8 PM (79) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 7 AM (81) · 199 named spots
Best window today 4-10 PM (78) · Best day Thu, Nov 5 at 9 AM (82) · 82 named spots
Best window today 4-6 PM (77) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 8 AM (81) · 16 named spots
Best window today 4-9 PM (75) · Best day Thu, Nov 12 at 2 PM (85) · 6 named spots
Best window today 6-9 PM (76) · Best day Wed, Nov 4 at 8 AM (81)
Best window today 4-9 PM (63) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 7 AM (66) · 11 named spots
Best window today 5-8 PM (75) · Best day Wed, Nov 4 at 8 AM (79)
Best window today 5-10 PM (66) · Best day Sun, Nov 8 at 5 PM (77)
Best window today 5 PM-12 AM (59) · Best day Wed, Nov 11 at 4 PM (75)
Best window today 4-9 PM (60) · Best day Thu, Nov 5 at 4 PM (69) · 4 named spots
Best window today 6-9 PM (64) · Best day Wed, Nov 11 at 4 PM (75)
Best window today 6-9 PM (66) · Best day Sun, Nov 15 at 5 PM (73)
Best window today 4-8 PM (61) · Best day Thu, Nov 5 at 8 AM (66) · 88 named spots
Best window today 4-8 PM (60) · Best day Wed, Nov 4 at 8 AM (64) · 92 named spots
Best window today 5-8 PM (57) · Best day Sun, Nov 15 at 5 PM (63)
Best window today 4-9 PM (58) · Best day Wed, Nov 4 at 7 AM (59) · 81 named spots
Best window today 7 PM-12 AM (66) · Best day Fri, Nov 6 at 6 AM (74)
Best window today 6-9 PM (67) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 7 AM (70) · 22 named spots
Best window today 5-9 PM (58) · Best day Wed, Nov 4 at 8 AM (63) · 21 named spots
Best window today 4 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 12 AM (35) · 49 named spots
Best window today 4 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 12 AM (35) · 126 named spots
Best window today 4 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 12 AM (35) · 39 named spots
Best window today 4 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 12 AM (35) · 20 named spots
Best window today 4 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 12 AM (35) · 24 named spots
Best window today 4 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 12 AM (35) · 131 named spots
Best window today 3 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 12 AM (35) · 13 named spots
Best window today 3 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 12 AM (35) · 46 named spots
Best window today 3 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 12 AM (35) · 79 named spots
Best window today 4 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 12 AM (35) · 195 named spots
Best window today 3 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 12 AM (35) · 23 named spots
How and where it feeds
- Water temperature
- Feeds from 65°F to 92°F, best between 70°F and 85°F.
- Water depth
- 1 to 60 ft of water.
- Structure
- Inlet, pass, jetty, bridge, channel, bay and beach, in that order of preference.
- Tide and current
- Prefers moving water, with moderate current.Jacks chase bait wherever current concentrates it, so inlet and pass mouths on either tide and rips along jetties are the places to look. Tide stage matters less than finding bait and birds.
- Light
- Bites best around dawn and dusk.
- Pressure
- Little response to pressure changes.
- Wind and sea limits
- 20 kt of wind and 4 ft of sea. The Waterlands engine scores hours down as conditions pass them.
Tackle and technique
Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
- Methods
- casting to surface schools, live bait, trolling, fly fishing
- Lures
- topwater popper, spoon, bucktail jig, soft plastic swimbait, baitfish fly
- Bait
- live mullet, pilchard, pinfish, ladyfish
Regulations
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Synced with FWC Nov 3, 2026. Rules shown verified Sep 13, 2026.
Season: No closed season on file
Two fish or 100 pounds per person per day, whichever is more. Crevalle jack is an unregulated species with this default limit. Hook and line, spears, gigs, haul seines and cast nets.
FWC Recreational Regulations: "Unregulated" Species · verified Sep 13, 2026
Other Florida species
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- Bluefish
- Bonefish
- Common snook
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- King mackerel
- Little tunny
- Red drum
- Southern flounder
- Spanish mackerel
- Spotted seatrout
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- Weakfish
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