Salty Forecast
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Fishing forecast by species

Spanish mackerel fishing forecast today

Spanish mackerel are an open-water fish that show up along beaches and passes as the water warms. Because you're usually fishing them from a boat or a pier, seas and wind count here more than for the backcountry species. This page ranks spots by today's conditions; it can't tell you where the schools are.

Best spots for Spanish mackerel right now

Scored 24 of 24 spots · Oct 21, 5:07 PM ET
  1. 1.Keaton Beach
    Big Bend · water 74°F · down 6°F this week
    94Prime

    Wind: 6 mph NE, gusts 13

  2. 2.Crystal River
    Nature Coast · water 74°F · down 5°F this week
    90Prime

    Wind: 7 mph NE, gusts 19

  3. 3.Homosassa
    Nature Coast · water 74°F · down 5°F this week
    88Prime

    Wind: 7 mph NE, gusts 20

  4. 4.Apalachicola
    Forgotten Coast · water 74°F · down 6°F this week
    86Prime

    Wind: 7 mph NE, gusts 18

  5. 5.Clearwater Beach
    Tampa Bay & Pinellas · water 80°F · down 5°F this week
    71Good

    Seas: 2.2 ft @ 4 s, short and steep

  6. 6.Anna Maria Island
    Sarasota Coast · water 80°F · down 5°F this week
    71Good

    Seas: 2.2 ft @ 4 s, short and steep

  7. 7.Key Largo
    The Florida Keys · water 83°F · down 4°F this week
    71Good

    Seas: 2.2 ft @ 4 s, short and steep

  8. 8.Port Canaveral
    Space Coast · water 79°F · down 4°F this week
    71Good

    Seas: 3 ft @ 7 s

  9. 9.St. Pete Beach
    Tampa Bay & Pinellas · water 80°F · down 5°F this week
    71Good

    Seas: 2.2 ft @ 4 s, short and steep

  10. 10.Slidell
    Louisiana Coast · water 80°F
    68Good

    Wind: 4 mph NE, gusts 9

  11. 11.Pascagoula
    Mississippi Coast · water 77°F · down 6°F this week
    67Good

    Wind: 5 mph NE, gusts 14

  12. 12.Sabine Pass
    Texas Gulf Coast · water 78°F · down 6°F this week
    63Fair

    Seas: 3.1 ft @ 5 s

  13. 13.Perdido Key
    Emerald Coast · water 79°F · down 4°F this week
    62Fair

    Seas: 2.9 ft @ 5 s, short and steep

  14. 14.Manasota Key
    Lemon Bay & Charlotte Harbor · water 82°F · down 3°F this week
    62Fair

    Seas: 2.7 ft @ 4 s, short and steep

  15. 15.Orange Beach
    Alabama Coast · water 79°F · down 5°F this week
    62Fair

    Seas: 2.9 ft @ 5 s, short and steep

Show the other 9 spots
  1. Pensacola Beach62 Fair
  2. Cape San Blas56 Fair
  3. Steinhatchee54 Fair
  4. Sanibel Island50 Fair
  5. Flagler Beach47 Slow
  6. Fernandina Beach45 Slow
  7. Vero Beach40 Slow
  8. Jupiter40 Slow
  9. Tybee Island40 Slow

This ranks a spread of spots along the coast, not every town. Open any spot for its full seven-day outlook. Scores are conditions only: they can’t tell you where the fish are, and water temperature is a model reading, not a measurement at the dock.

What moves the Spanish mackerel score

They show up as the water warms

The bite builds as water passes about 70°F and holds through the 70s into the mid 80s. Below the low 60s the score drops hard. These ranges are rules of thumb, not published thresholds.

Seas and wind matter most

Mackerel fishing is open-water fishing, so short, steep seas and strong wind cap the score. A day with a good water temperature and a 3-foot chop at 4 seconds does not rate Prime.

Rules and seasons are separate from conditions and change by region and by order. Florida’s are on FWC’s Spanish mackerel page ; other states set their own.

Common questions

When do Spanish mackerel show up?

As the water warms past roughly 70°F they move along beaches and passes. This page scores the conditions each day; the schools themselves come and go with bait.

Does this tell me the Spanish mackerel limit?

No. It scores conditions only. Check FWC's Spanish mackerel page for Florida's rules; other states set their own.

Other fish

Snook →Redfish →Spotted seatrout →Tarpon →Sheepshead →

Salty Forecast is a free hyperlocal weather app for the coast. These are planning aids built from forecast data, tide predictions and a water-temperature model, not guarantees: fish don’t read forecasts.