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King mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker73
- Common snook71
- Red drum71
- Gray snapper69
- Atlantic tarpon67
- Permit63
- Southern flounder63
- Black drum62
- Crevalle jack61
- Gag grouper60
- Gray triggerfish56
- Red grouper56
- Red snapper56
- Spanish mackerel56
- Spotted seatrout54
- Florida pompano53
- King mackerel52
- Greater amberjack50
- Cobia46
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 11 AM · King mackerel
- Now
- 5210 AM EDT
- Best window
- 4-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big Island Gap 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
76Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 4 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
52Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: MorningSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.2 ftSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
53Season: 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 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
Big Island Gap
- Depth
- 1-3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · 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 Island Gap
Big Island Gap is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, southern flounder and black drum. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September 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
- South Gandy Channel75
Channel · 3.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 75
- Common snook 72
- Gray snapper 72
3 kt NEH 1:03 PM · 2.8 ftL 8:14 PM · 0.5 ft
- Cabbage Patch Point72
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 72
- Common snook 66
- Atlantic croaker 65
4 kt ENEH 1:30 PM · 3.1 ftL 9:06 PM · 0.8 ft
- Cedar Point71
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 71
- Common snook 66
- Atlantic croaker 64
4 kt ENEH 1:30 PM · 3.1 ftL 9:06 PM · 0.8 ft
- Old Tampa Bay70
Bay · 2.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Common snook 70
- Gray snapper 68
4 kt NEH 1:28 PM · 2.8 ftL 8:31 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.