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King mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker74
- Common snook66
- Florida pompano61
- Red drum60
- Gray snapper59
- Atlantic tarpon57
- Permit55
- Spanish mackerel55
- Crevalle jack53
- Southern flounder52
- Black drum51
- Gag grouper45
- King mackerel45
- Cobia44
- Gray triggerfish42
- Red grouper42
- Red snapper42
- Spotted seatrout42
- Greater amberjack37
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 AM · King mackerel
- Now
- 4510 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- High1.6 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
14Tide: High slackCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
57Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: MorningSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
65Season: 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 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
- 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 Atlantic croaker, common snook and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, permit and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Big Cockroach Pass74
Channel · 0.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Common snook 66
- Florida pompano 61
4 kt EL 6:43 PM · 0.2 ftH 1:15 AM · 1.4 ft
- Cockroach Channel74
Channel · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Common snook 63
- Gray snapper 59
4 kt EL 6:43 PM · 0.2 ftH 1:15 AM · 1.4 ft
- Hole in the Wall Pass74
Channel · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Common snook 66
- Florida pompano 61
4 kt EL 6:43 PM · 0.2 ftH 1:15 AM · 1.4 ft
- South Stop70
Bay · 0.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Red drum 60
- Common snook 57
4 kt EL 6:43 PM · 0.2 ftH 1:15 AM · 1.4 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.