Edges and blue water

King mackerel

Scomberomorus cavalla

Smoker kings along the reef edge, where the clear water meets the green.

What they like

  • 8–40 musual depth (they tolerate 4–80 m)
  • 20–29 °Cwater temperature they feed in
  • clear or coloured waterwater clarity
  • drop-offs, deep water, open even bottombottom they hunt, in order
  • any tidetide
  • dawn and dusklight

Colour changes and temperature edges over the reef line and wrecks, 10-40 m, when bait is thick.

Season by region

Peak months, shaded. Outside them the species may still be around, just less reliably.

Florida and the Gulf
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Caribbean and Bahamas
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Georgia to the Chesapeake
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Bait and technique

Methods: bait, spinning / casting.

Bait and lures: Slow-trolled live blue runners or ribbonfish, big spoons, deep plugs.

Technique: Slow-troll live bait on wire along the colour change; the first run is long, keep the drag light.

Rules

Florida: Florida: 24 in fork length minimum, 3 per day Gulf / 3 Atlantic. Verify with FWC and NOAA.

Seasons, sizes and bag limits change every year and differ by zone. Check the current regulations before you keep anything.

Depth maps where king mackerel live

Depth map preview of Bimini, Bahamas±0.67 m

Bahamas

Bimini, Bahamas

  • ±0.67 mtypical error
  • 1,990laser soundings checked
  • 74 km²of shallows

Updated 21 h ago

Preferences are expert estimates from the fisheries literature and angling practice, not measurements at your spot. The likelihoods on the maps are a planning aid, not a catch prediction.