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King mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook71
- Atlantic croaker70
- Atlantic tarpon66
- Red drum66
- Gray snapper65
- Black drum57
- Southern flounder56
- Permit55
- Crevalle jack54
- Spanish mackerel54
- Spotted seatrout50
- Cobia49
- Florida pompano49
- Red snapper49
- Gag grouper47
- Gray triggerfish46
- King mackerel46
- Red grouper46
- Greater amberjack40
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 AM · King mackerel
- Now
- 461 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7-11 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hunter 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
Saturday, Sep 19 · 8 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
39Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 5 kt NNEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
67Water temp: 86°F, hotLight: DawnSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
64Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of range
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
Hunter Pass
- Depth
- Up to 4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Hunter Pass
Hunter Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is up to 4 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 croaker and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, southern flounder and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Little Cockroach Rock Pass72
Channel · 3.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Red drum 70
- Atlantic croaker 69
6 kt NEH 6:05 AM · 2.2 ftL 3:16 PM · 0.5 ft
- Double Bayou Pass71
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 71
- Atlantic croaker 69
- Red drum 69
6 kt NEH 5:41 AM · 2.8 ftL 2:47 PM · 0.5 ft
- Sand Point64
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Gray snapper 61
- Red drum 61
6 kt NEH 6:05 AM · 2.2 ftL 3:16 PM · 0.5 ft
- Mangrove Point63
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 63
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Gray snapper 60
6 kt NEH 5:41 AM · 2.8 ftL 2:47 PM · 0.5 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.