UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
King mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum68
- Common snook67
- Atlantic croaker65
- Gray snapper65
- Atlantic tarpon60
- Black drum55
- Southern flounder55
- Permit53
- Spanish mackerel52
- Crevalle jack51
- Spotted seatrout51
- Florida pompano50
- Red snapper49
- Gag grouper48
- Cobia45
- Gray triggerfish45
- Red grouper45
- King mackerel42
- Greater amberjack40
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 AM · King mackerel
- Now
- 4210 PM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big Bend 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 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
55Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 5 kt ENEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
37Water temp: 86°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
50Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: 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 today
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
Big Bend
- Depth
- 1-4 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 Big Bend
Big Bend is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, common snook and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, southern flounder and permit. Red drum peak from September through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.
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.
- 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
- The Kitchen77
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 77
- Atlantic croaker 73
- Common snook 68
5 kt ENEH 1:45 AM · 2.0 ftL 5:19 AM · 1.6 ft
- Big Bend Channel76
Channel · 2.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 76
- Common snook 74
- Red drum 74
5 kt ENEH 2:40 AM · 2.1 ftL 4:58 AM · 2.1 ft
- Alafia River Channel76
Channel · 3.0 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 76
- Common snook 74
- Gray snapper 74
5 kt ENEH 1:45 AM · 2.0 ftL 5:19 AM · 1.6 ft
- South Channel76
Bay · 3.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 76
- Common snook 74
- Gray snapper 74
5 kt ENEH 1:45 AM · 2.0 ftL 5:19 AM · 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.