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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Florida pompano72
- Spanish mackerel67
- Common snook64
- Spotted seatrout63
- Red drum60
- Black drum59
- King mackerel56
- Gray snapper51
- Sheepshead51
- Gray triggerfish47
- Red grouper47
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 8 PM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 679 AM EST
- Best window
- 6-10 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing2.3 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
Monday, Nov 16 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
93Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.6 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 6 kt NWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
98Water temp: 76°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
98Season: PeakHabitat: Prime structureDepth: Out of range
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 yesterday
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
Hunter Pass
- Depth
- Up to 4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 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 Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and common snook. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout and red drum, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, king mackerel and gray snapper. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.
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.
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
- 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
- Double Bayou Pass72
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 72
- Spanish mackerel 67
- Common snook 64
11 kt ESEL 3:44 PM · 0.5 ftH 10:39 PM · 2.1 ft
- Little Cockroach Rock Pass72
Channel · 3.1 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 72
- Spanish mackerel 62
- Common snook 59
11 kt ESEL 4:13 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:03 PM · 1.7 ft
- Mangrove Point66
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 66
- Spanish mackerel 59
- Common snook 57
11 kt ESEL 3:44 PM · 0.5 ftH 10:39 PM · 2.1 ft
- Sand Point66
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 66
- Spanish mackerel 54
- Common snook 51
11 kt ESEL 4:13 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:03 PM · 1.7 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.