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Southern flounderShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Southern flounder
- Now
- 647 AM CDT
- Best window
- 7 AM-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Old River 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 · 7 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
70Tide: FloodingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
92Wind: 2 kt WPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
71Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Southern flounder
Species seasonality
77Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Southern flounder
Retention open- Daily limit
- 5 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 14 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Oct 15
- Other
- Same rules for Gulf, southern, summer and fringed flounder, in state and federal waters. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Spears, gigs, hook and line, seine or cast net. No multiple hooks with natural bait. No snatching. Closed every October 15 through November 30.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Flounder, 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)
- 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 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)
- 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Southern flounder is best here
Shoulder season for Southern flounder · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Old River
- Depth
- 1-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonSouthern flounder
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 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 Old River
Old River is a gut in Perdido Bay Area, Alabama. Depth is 1-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, black drum and permit. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Red drum peak from September through November.
Tackle & technique
- Southern flounder
- Flounder lie half buried on soft bottom along marsh edges, creek mouths, dock pilings and the sandy sides of passes, usually in 1 to 15 feet of water. Drag a mud minnow or finger mullet on a Carolina rig, or bump a soft plastic slowly along the bottom, and give the fish a few seconds before setting the hook. In fall the adults stack up at passes and jetties on their way offshore, and many anglers gig them at night in knee-deep water.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
- Gray snapper
- Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Goat Bayou72
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Red drum 69
- Gray snapper 65
2 kt WH 9:18 AM · 0.8 ftL 10:29 PM · 0.1 ft
- Bellville Bay72
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Gray snapper 70
- Red drum 67
2 kt WH 9:18 AM · 0.8 ftL 10:29 PM · 0.1 ft
- Old River72
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Gray snapper 70
- Red drum 67
2 kt WH 9:18 AM · 0.8 ftL 10:29 PM · 0.1 ft
- Goat Point67
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 67
- Gray snapper 65
- Red drum 62
2 kt WH 9:18 AM · 0.8 ftL 10:29 PM · 0.1 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.