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King mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook66
- Gray snapper66
- Atlantic croaker65
- Crevalle jack59
- Red drum58
- Southern flounder58
- Spanish mackerel58
- Atlantic tarpon57
- King mackerel56
- Black drum55
- Gag grouper55
- Permit54
- Cobia53
- Gray triggerfish52
- Red grouper52
- Red snapper51
- Greater amberjack49
- Spotted seatrout48
- Florida pompano43
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 PM · King mackerel
- Now
- 564 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.8 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Buttonwood Harbor 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 · 4 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
95Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.7 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
78Wind: 0 kt NPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
42Water temp: 89°F, hotLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
70Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: 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
Buttonwood Harbor
- Depth
- 1-7 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 Buttonwood Harbor
Buttonwood Harbor is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for crevalle jack, southern flounder, Spanish mackerel and Atlantic tarpon. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. 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.
- 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
- Long Bar Point67
Cape · 3.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 67
- Permit 62
- Atlantic tarpon 62
0 kt NL 5:33 PM · 0.6 ftH 12:11 AM · 1.8 ft
- Cranes Bayou65
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 65
- Atlantic croaker 64
- Southern flounder 62
0 kt NL 5:47 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:22 AM · 1.6 ft
- Sarasota Bay65
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 65
- Atlantic croaker 64
- Gray snapper 64
0 kt NL 5:33 PM · 0.6 ftH 12:11 AM · 1.8 ft
- Millar Bay64
Bay · 3.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Atlantic croaker 63
- Gray snapper 63
0 kt NL 5:39 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:52 PM · 1.9 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.