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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook75
- Atlantic tarpon72
- Atlantic croaker69
- Gray snapper68
- Red drum68
- Spanish mackerel65
- Crevalle jack64
- Permit63
- Southern flounder63
- Black drum59
- King mackerel56
- Gag grouper55
- Spotted seatrout55
- Cobia54
- Red snapper52
- Florida pompano51
- Gray triggerfish51
- Red grouper51
- Greater amberjack49
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 656 PM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Gooseneck Pass 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 · 6 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
77Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.6 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 2 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
71Water temp: 88°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
77Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: Out of 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 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)
- 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 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)
- 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 Spanish mackerel is best here
Shoulder season for Spanish mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Gooseneck Pass
- Depth
- Up to 3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder 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 Gooseneck Pass
Gooseneck Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is up to 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, crevalle jack and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.
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.
- Atlantic tarpon
- Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Big Pass75
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 75
- Red drum 72
- Atlantic tarpon 72
2 kt ENEL 7:21 PM · 0.2 ftH 1:23 AM · 1.4 ft
- Coon Creek74
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 74
- Atlantic tarpon 73
- Atlantic croaker 72
2 kt ENEL 7:21 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:00 AM · 1.8 ft
- Little Cockroach Bay74
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 74
- Atlantic tarpon 70
- Atlantic croaker 69
2 kt ENEL 7:21 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:00 AM · 1.8 ft
- Marys Point67
Cape · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 67
- Gray snapper 64
- Red drum 63
2 kt ENEL 7:21 PM · 0.2 ftH 1:23 AM · 1.4 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.