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King mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Red drum77
- Spanish mackerel76
- Spotted seatrout76
- Florida pompano75
- Common snook72
- Black drum69
- Gray snapper66
- Sheepshead66
- King mackerel65
- Gray triggerfish62
- Red grouper62
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 PM · King mackerel
- Now
- 655 PM EST
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.8 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Soldier Hole 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
Friday, Nov 13 · 7 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.5 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 7 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
84Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
48Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
King mackerel
Retention open- Daily limit
- 3 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 24 in, fork length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Hook and line and spearing only. Open year-round.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: King 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)
- 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)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When King mackerel is best here
Shoulder season for King mackerel · 4 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Soldier Hole
- Depth
- 2-6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonKing 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 Soldier Hole
Soldier Hole is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, Spanish mackerel and spotted seatrout. It is peak season now for red drum, Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, gray snapper and sheepshead. Red drum peak from September through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- King mackerel
- Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Mullet Key Bayou82
Bay · 1.0 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 82
- Spotted seatrout 79
- Florida pompano 73
9 kt EH 8:28 PM · 1.3 ftL 12:52 AM · 1.1 ft
- Bunces Pass81
Channel · 1.8 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 81
- Spotted seatrout 81
- Red drum 80
9 kt EH 8:28 PM · 1.3 ftL 12:52 AM · 1.1 ft
- Mullet Key Channel78
Channel · 2.4 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 78
- Spotted seatrout 73
- Black drum 72
8 kt EH 8:28 PM · 1.3 ftL 12:52 AM · 1.1 ft
- De Soto Point72
Cape · 0.3 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 72
- Spanish mackerel 72
- Florida pompano 71
8 kt EH 8:28 PM · 1.3 ftL 12:52 AM · 1.1 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.