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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook73
- Atlantic croaker71
- Gray snapper69
- Atlantic tarpon67
- Red drum67
- Black drum61
- Southern flounder60
- Permit59
- Crevalle jack55
- Gag grouper53
- Red snapper53
- Spanish mackerel52
- Spotted seatrout52
- Gray triggerfish49
- Red grouper49
- King mackerel45
- Greater amberjack44
- Cobia40
- Florida pompano40
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 PM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 522 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.9 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Pope Channel 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
Thursday, Sep 24 · 8 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.4 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 7 kt NNEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
78Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.9 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
55Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In 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 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
Pope Channel
- Depth
- 2-8 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 Pope Channel
Pope Channel is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, 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, 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. 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
- Dunedin Channel74
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 74
- Atlantic croaker 72
- Gray snapper 70
4 kt ESEL 4:41 AM · 1.5 ftH 10:31 AM · 3.1 ft
- Mandalay Channel73
Channel · 0.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 73
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Gray snapper 69
4 kt ESEL 4:01 AM · 1.6 ftH 10:05 AM · 3.1 ft
- Clearwater Harbor73
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 73
- Gray snapper 70
- Atlantic croaker 69
4 kt ESEL 4:01 AM · 1.6 ftH 10:05 AM · 3.1 ft
- Malone Point69
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 69
- Gray snapper 65
- Atlantic croaker 63
4 kt ESEL 4:41 AM · 1.5 ftH 10:31 AM · 3.1 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.