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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook67
- Spotted seatrout67
- Red drum66
- Black drum64
- Florida pompano64
- Spanish mackerel58
- Gray snapper56
- Sheepshead54
- King mackerel52
- Gray triggerfish48
- Red grouper48
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 589 PM EST
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Devils Elbow 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 · 9 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
48Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 7 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
64Water temp: 76°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 1.4 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In 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 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 today
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
Devils Elbow
- Depth
- 3-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
- 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 Devils Elbow
Devils Elbow is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, spotted seatrout and red drum. It is peak season now for spotted seatrout, red drum, Florida pompano and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, gray snapper and sheepshead. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November. Red drum peak from September 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.
- Spotted seatrout
- Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Blind Pass70
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookShoulder season- Common snook 70
- Florida pompano 70
- Spanish mackerel 67
7 kt ESEL 3:36 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:04 AM · 1.8 ft
- Boca Ciega Bay68
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 68
- Common snook 66
- Red drum 66
7 kt ESEL 3:36 AM · 1.0 ftH 9:04 AM · 1.8 ft
- Long Bayou63
Bay · 2.7 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 63
- Red drum 61
- Spotted seatrout 59
7 kt ESEL 2:16 AM · 1.1 ftH 8:08 AM · 1.9 ft
- Turtlecrawl Point63
Cape · 2.9 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 63
- Common snook 55
- Red drum 54
7 kt ESEL 2:16 AM · 1.1 ftH 8:08 AM · 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.