Waterlands

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Spanish mackerelRetention open

Bay · Florida

Passage Key Inlet

27.55°N · 82.73°W · Bay · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 8 AM · Spanish mackerel

79/100Great
Now
728 AM EDT
Best window
8-10 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.1 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Wed · 88

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score72Great
Tide2.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.7 kn · toward E
Wind4 kn ESEgusts 6 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherOvercast87% cloud
Water87°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Spanish mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for Spanish mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder

Spanish mackerel season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Spanish mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Spanish mackerel in Florida →

Spot profile

Passage Key Inlet

Depth
15-20 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Inlet · Inner · Semi-exposedInlet · 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 Passage Key Inlet

Passage Key Inlet is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 15-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads inlet, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, crevalle jack and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July. 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.
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

View all on map →
  • Southwest Channel

    Channel · 2.3 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Common snook 75
    • Gray snapper 75

    4 kt ESEH 10:27 AM · 2.1 ftL 5:10 PM · 0.1 ft

  • Bimini Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    75
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 75
    • Gray snapper 75
    • Red drum 73

    4 kt ESEH 10:19 AM · 2.5 ftL 5:15 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Key ROyale Bar

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Gray snapper 66
    • Atlantic croaker 65

    4 kt ESEH 10:19 AM · 2.5 ftL 5:15 PM · 0.6 ft

  • The Bulkhead

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    68
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 68
    • Gray snapper 66
    • Atlantic croaker 65

    4 kt ESEH 10:19 AM · 2.5 ftL 5:15 PM · 0.6 ft

Open in the tide map

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.