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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook68
- Gray snapper68
- Red drum66
- Atlantic croaker65
- Permit63
- Atlantic tarpon61
- Crevalle jack60
- Spanish mackerel59
- Gag grouper58
- Southern flounder58
- Gray triggerfish56
- Red grouper55
- Red snapper55
- Black drum54
- Greater amberjack54
- King mackerel54
- Cobia51
- Florida pompano47
- Spotted seatrout47
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 PM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 5912 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.8 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Howard 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 · 12 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.9 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
59Water temp: 85°F, warmLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
53Season: ShoulderHabitat: 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 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
Howard Point
- Depth
- 4-10 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Howard Point
Howard Point is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 4-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for permit, Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack and Spanish mackerel. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. 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.
- 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
- Clearwater Pass76
Channel · 2.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Atlantic croaker 74
- Gray snapper 73
4 kt ENEL 3:46 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:51 PM · 2.3 ft
- Point Pleasant68
Cape · 0.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 68
- Gray snapper 68
- Red drum 66
4 kt ENEL 4:36 PM · 0.5 ftH 11:19 PM · 2.1 ft
- Shell Point64
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Atlantic croaker 63
- Gray snapper 62
4 kt ENEL 5:18 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:10 AM · 2.1 ft
- McKay Point64
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Atlantic croaker 63
- Gray snapper 62
4 kt ENEL 5:18 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:10 AM · 2.1 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.