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Spanish mackerelRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 12 AM · Red drum
- Now
- 572 PM CST
- Best window
- 2-6 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.5 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Toms 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 · 2 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
78Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
74Wind: 9 kt SEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
54Water temp: 74°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 4.2 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: 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 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)
- 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 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)
- 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Spanish mackerel is best here
Peak season for Spanish mackerel · 2 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Toms Bayou
- Depth
- 4-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak 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 Toms Bayou
Toms Bayou is a bay in Western Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 4-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and gray triggerfish. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for king mackerel, gray triggerfish, red grouper and sheepshead. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. King mackerel peak in May and in October. Gray triggerfish peak from May through August.
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.
- 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.
- Gray triggerfish
- Gray triggerfish hover a few feet over reefs, wrecks and ledges, usually in 60 to 200 feet, and often show up while snapper fishing. Use small, strong circle hooks with small pieces of squid or cut bait on a short bottom rig, because they nibble and strip big baits. Keep the bait just off the bottom and reel steadily at the first solid pull.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Boggy Bayou57
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 57
- King mackerel 56
- Gray triggerfish 54
9 kt SEL 7:39 PM · 0.3 ftH 8:07 AM · 0.6 ft
- Boggy Point57
Cape · 1.7 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 57
- King mackerel 56
- Gray triggerfish 54
9 kt SEL 7:39 PM · 0.3 ftH 8:07 AM · 0.6 ft
- Shirk Bayou57
Bay · 1.8 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 57
- King mackerel 56
- Gray triggerfish 53
9 kt SEL 7:39 PM · 0.3 ftH 8:07 AM · 0.6 ft
- Shirk Point56
Cape · 2.1 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 56
- King mackerel 53
- Gray triggerfish 51
9 kt SEL 8:36 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:09 AM · 0.5 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.