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King mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum73
- Spanish mackerel73
- Common snook68
- Spotted seatrout68
- Black drum65
- King mackerel63
- Gray snapper61
- Sheepshead61
- Florida pompano60
- Gray triggerfish57
- Red grouper56
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 9 AM · King mackerel
- Now
- 632 PM EST
- Best window
- 9-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.0 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Beacon 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 · 2 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
82Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
90Wind: 2 kt WNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
71Water temp: 81°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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 Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- 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 Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- 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 · 3 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Beacon Pass
- Depth
- Up to 3 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Beacon Pass
Beacon Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is up to 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, Spanish mackerel and common snook. It is peak season now for red drum, Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, king mackerel and gray snapper. Red drum peak from September through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.
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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- South Stop73
Bay · 0.3 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Spotted seatrout 67
- Spanish mackerel 64
2 kt WNWL 5:29 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:55 PM · 1.6 ft
- Big Cockroach Pass73
Channel · 0.4 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 73
- Red drum 69
- Common snook 68
2 kt WNWL 5:29 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:55 PM · 1.6 ft
- Hole in the Wall Pass73
Channel · 0.8 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 73
- Red drum 69
- Common snook 68
2 kt WNWL 5:29 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:55 PM · 1.6 ft
- Cockroach Channel69
Channel · 0.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 69
- Spotted seatrout 67
- Common snook 66
2 kt WNWL 5:29 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:55 PM · 1.6 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.