Waterlands

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King mackerelRetention open

Cape · Florida

Black Point

27.91°N · 82.43°W · Cape · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 9 AM · King mackerel

72/100Great
Now
487 AM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.8 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score48Good
Tide1.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind4 kn ENEgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 4 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy77% cloud
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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

King mackerel season by week of the year. Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

King mackerel in Florida

Spot profile

Black Point

Depth
15-50 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · slope
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 Black Point

Black Point is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 15-50 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, crevalle jack and gag grouper. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. 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.
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.
Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Sparkman Channel

    Channel · 2.2 mi

    71
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 71
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Gray snapper 66

    4 kt ENEH 11:59 AM · 2.9 ftL 7:10 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Seaplane Basin

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    69
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 69
    • Atlantic croaker 63
    • Gray snapper 63

    4 kt ENEH 11:36 AM · 2.8 ftL 7:36 PM · 0.6 ft

  • East Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    66
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 66
    • Atlantic croaker 63
    • Gray snapper 63

    4 kt ENEH 12:02 PM · 2.8 ftL 7:13 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Pendola Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    65
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 65
    • Gray snapper 65
    • Gag grouper 61

    4 kt ENEH 11:54 AM · 2.7 ftL 7:09 PM · 0.5 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.