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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook72
- Atlantic croaker70
- Atlantic tarpon68
- Red drum67
- Gray snapper66
- Permit62
- Crevalle jack61
- Spanish mackerel61
- Southern flounder60
- Black drum59
- Gag grouper56
- Florida pompano55
- King mackerel54
- Cobia53
- Gray triggerfish53
- Red grouper53
- Red snapper53
- Spotted seatrout52
- Greater amberjack47
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 611 PM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big 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 · 1 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
73Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
86Wind: 1 kt SPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
64Water temp: 88°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
76Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: Out of 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
Big Pass
- Depth
- 1-3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Big Pass
Big Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, crevalle jack and Spanish mackerel. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Gooseneck Pass72
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Atlantic tarpon 67
1 kt SL 7:21 PM · 0.2 ftH 1:23 AM · 1.4 ft
- Coon Creek71
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 71
- Common snook 69
- Atlantic tarpon 66
1 kt SL 7:21 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:00 AM · 1.8 ft
- Cockroach Channel70
Channel · 1.0 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Common snook 70
- Atlantic tarpon 67
1 kt SL 7:21 PM · 0.2 ftH 1:23 AM · 1.4 ft
- Marys Point64
Cape · 0.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Gray snapper 60
1 kt SL 7:21 PM · 0.2 ftH 1:23 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.