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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook64
- Atlantic croaker60
- Gray snapper58
- Red drum58
- Atlantic tarpon57
- Permit52
- Spanish mackerel52
- Gag grouper51
- Southern flounder50
- Black drum49
- Crevalle jack49
- Florida pompano48
- Gray triggerfish48
- Red grouper48
- Red snapper48
- King mackerel47
- Greater amberjack43
- Spotted seatrout43
- Cobia42
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 10 PM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 528 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.9 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Point Pinellas 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 · 8 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
45Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
75Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.3 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 yesterday
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
Point Pinellas
- Depth
- 1-15 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 Point Pinellas
Point Pinellas is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 1-15 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, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, Spanish mackerel and gag grouper. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June 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 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
- Sunshine Skyway Channel77
Channel · 2.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 77
- Common snook 65
- Atlantic tarpon 61
4 kt ESEH 8:47 AM · 2.3 ftL 4:40 PM · 0.6 ft
- Maximo Channel77
Channel · 3.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 77
- Common snook 65
- Atlantic tarpon 61
4 kt ESEH 8:47 AM · 2.3 ftL 4:40 PM · 0.6 ft
- Little Bayou68
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Red drum 67
- Common snook 66
4 kt ESEH 9:55 AM · 2.0 ftL 5:57 PM · 0.4 ft
- Big Bayou68
Bay · 2.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 68
- Atlantic croaker 66
- Common snook 66
4 kt ESEH 10:17 AM · 2.3 ftL 6:26 PM · 0.4 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.