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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 545 PM CDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.6 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bell Shoal 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
30Tide: Low slackCurrent: 0.4 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
96Wind: 3 kt SSWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
75Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
68Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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 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)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 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)
- 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
Shoulder season for Spanish mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Bell Shoal
- Depth
- About 20 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonSpanish 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 Bell Shoal
Bell Shoal is a bar in St. Andrews Bay Waterways, Florida. Depth is about 20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and black drum. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Wild Goose Lagoon74
Bay · 5.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 74
- Atlantic croaker 72
- Atlantic tarpon 70
3 kt SSWL 7:58 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:33 AM · 1.8 ft
- Saint Andrew Point68
Cape · 3.7 mi
Top: Gray snapperPeak season- Gray snapper 68
- Atlantic croaker 67
- Red drum 66
3 kt SSWL 7:58 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:33 AM · 1.8 ft
- Nesser Flat66
Bay · 7.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Gray snapper 66
- Red drum 66
3 kt SSWL 5:58 PM · 0.6 ftH 9:33 AM · 1.8 ft
- Saint Joseph Point59
Cape · 4.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 59
- Red drum 58
- Atlantic tarpon 58
3 kt SSWH 7:50 AM · 1.8 ftL 5:42 PM · 0.7 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.