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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum58
- Atlantic croaker56
- Common snook54
- Southern flounder54
- Atlantic tarpon50
- Gray snapper49
- Gag grouper48
- Crevalle jack47
- Red snapper45
- Black drum44
- Gray triggerfish44
- Permit44
- Red grouper44
- Spanish mackerel44
- Spotted seatrout44
- King mackerel43
- Cobia42
- Florida pompano42
- Greater amberjack39
- Sheepshead34
Best score today · 11 PM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 447 PM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.5 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Smacks Bayou 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 · 7 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
25Tide: Low slackCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 3 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
60Water temp: 90°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
54Season: 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 today
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
Smacks Bayou
- Depth
- 4-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · 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 Smacks Bayou
Smacks Bayou is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 4-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic croaker and common snook. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker, common snook and gray snapper, and shoulder season for southern flounder, Atlantic tarpon, gag grouper and crevalle jack. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. 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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- 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
- Bayou Grande65
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 65
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Red drum 61
3 kt EH 2:16 AM · 2.2 ftL 7:03 AM · 1.4 ft
- Papys Point65
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 65
- Atlantic tarpon 62
- Common snook 61
3 kt EH 2:16 AM · 2.2 ftL 7:03 AM · 1.4 ft
- Mermaid Point61
Cape · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 61
- Red drum 57
- Atlantic croaker 56
3 kt EH 2:16 AM · 2.2 ftL 7:03 AM · 1.4 ft
- Placido Bayou60
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 60
- Atlantic croaker 56
- Atlantic tarpon 56
3 kt EH 1:52 AM · 1.9 ftL 6:25 AM · 1.4 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.