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King mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook59
- Red drum56
- Atlantic tarpon55
- Spanish mackerel54
- Florida pompano53
- Gray snapper53
- Atlantic croaker52
- Black drum52
- Gag grouper49
- Southern flounder49
- Permit48
- King mackerel46
- Red snapper46
- Crevalle jack45
- Gray triggerfish45
- Red grouper45
- Spotted seatrout42
- Cobia41
- Greater amberjack41
- Sheepshead34
Best score today · 10 PM · King mackerel
- Now
- 466 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Wake Porter Fish Havens 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 · 6 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
50Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.4 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
85Wind: 1 kt NPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
59Water temp: 89°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · King 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)
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 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)
- 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)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 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 King mackerel is best here
Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Wake Porter Fish Havens
- Depth
- 15-20 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bar · Outer · ExposedBar · 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 Wake Porter Fish Havens
Wake Porter Fish Havens is a bar in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 15-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, red drum and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Pass-a-Grille Channel64
Channel · 1.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 64
- Atlantic tarpon 63
- Atlantic croaker 61
1 kt NH 12:18 AM · 1.7 ftL 4:55 AM · 1.2 ft
- Mud Key Cutoff63
Channel · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 63
- Atlantic tarpon 61
- Atlantic croaker 60
1 kt NH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ftL 4:14 AM · 1.4 ft
- McPherson Bayou60
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 60
- Common snook 58
- Atlantic croaker 56
1 kt NH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ftL 4:14 AM · 1.4 ft
- Little McPherson Bayou59
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 59
- Common snook 57
- Atlantic croaker 55
1 kt NH 12:18 AM · 1.7 ftL 4:55 AM · 1.2 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.