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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all76
- Spanish mackerel76
- Common snook72
- Florida pompano72
- Red drum70
- Spotted seatrout68
- Black drum66
- Sheepshead66
- Gray snapper65
- King mackerel65
- Gray triggerfish62
- Red grouper62
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · Red drum
- Now
- 768 AM EST
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Boca Ciega Bay 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
Monday, Nov 9 · 9 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
88Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.5 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
94Wind: 8 kt NPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
86Water temp: 77°F, primeLight: MorningSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
88Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In range
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 Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- 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 Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Spanish mackerel is best here
Peak season for Spanish mackerel · 2 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Boca Ciega Bay
- Depth
- 3-15 ftSlope
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
- Season
- Peak 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 Boca Ciega Bay
Boca Ciega Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, common snook and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, sheepshead and gray snapper. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. 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
- 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.
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Blind Pass80
Channel · 1.4 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 80
- Common snook 76
- Florida pompano 73
4 kt NEL 2:20 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:26 PM · 1.6 ft
- Long Bayou78
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 78
- Spanish mackerel 76
- Spotted seatrout 74
4 kt NEL 1:00 PM · 0.3 ftH 8:30 PM · 1.7 ft
- Turtlecrawl Point76
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 76
- Common snook 71
- Red drum 71
4 kt NEL 1:00 PM · 0.3 ftH 8:30 PM · 1.7 ft
- Devils Elbow73
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 73
- Red drum 71
- Spanish mackerel 71
4 kt NEL 2:20 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:26 PM · 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.