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King mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum52
- Common snook44
- Gray snapper42
- Atlantic croaker41
- Black drum36
- Gag grouper36
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Southern flounder35
- Spotted seatrout35
- Gray triggerfish34
- Red grouper34
- Red snapper34
- Florida pompano32
- Spanish mackerel32
- King mackerel31
- Greater amberjack29
- Cobia26
- Sheepshead19
Best score today · 10 AM · King mackerel
- Now
- 315 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.7 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cabbage Patch Point 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
15Tide: Low slackCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
53Wind: 5 kt NNEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
53Water temp: 88°F, hotLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
48Season: 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 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
Cabbage Patch Point
- Depth
- 1-4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Cabbage Patch Point
Cabbage Patch Point is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, common snook and gray snapper. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for black drum, gag grouper, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. Red drum peak from September through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June 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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- 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 Channel59
Channel · 4.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 59
- Common snook 57
- Red drum 57
6 kt NEH 7:33 AM · 2.6 ftL 5:05 PM · 0.5 ft
- Old Tampa Bay55
Bay · 2.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 55
- Red drum 55
- Atlantic croaker 54
4 kt NEH 7:59 AM · 2.6 ftL 5:21 PM · 0.6 ft
- Cedar Point52
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 52
- Common snook 44
- Atlantic croaker 41
5 kt NNEH 8:01 AM · 2.9 ftL 5:56 PM · 0.7 ft
- Big Island Gap52
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 52
- Atlantic croaker 50
- Common snook 49
5 kt NNEH 8:01 AM · 2.9 ftL 5:56 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.