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Southern flounderClosedChannel · Florida
Shell Pass
26.70°N · 82.15°W · Channel · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Spanish mackerel63
- Florida pompano61
- Spotted seatrout61
- Common snook59
- Red drum59
- Black drum56
- King mackerel55
- Gray snapper48
- Sheepshead48
- Gray triggerfish46
- Red grouper45
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Permit35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Red snapper20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 7 PM · Southern flounder
- Now
- 203 PM EST
- Best window
- 5-10 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.3 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Shell Pass 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
Sunday, Nov 8 · 6 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
98Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.7 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
95Wind: 2 kt NNEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
81Water temp: 79°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.1 ftSeason & habitat · Southern flounder
Species seasonality
95Closed season · capped at 20Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Southern flounder
Closed- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- Oct 15 to Nov 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Retention open from Dec 1
- Other
- Annual fall closure in state and federal waters.
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 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)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- 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 Southern flounder is best here
Peak season for Southern flounder · 2 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Shell Pass
- Depth
- 4-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonSouthern flounder
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 Shell Pass
Shell Pass is a channel in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 4-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and spotted seatrout. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, spotted seatrout and red drum, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, king mackerel and gray snapper. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October 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.
- 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.
- Florida pompano
- Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Big Jim Creek67
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 67
- Spotted seatrout 65
- Black drum 57
9 kt EL 3:30 PM · 0.2 ftH 10:25 PM · 1.4 ft
- Jug Creek Point Shoal62
Bar · 1.3 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 62
- Spanish mackerel 59
- Red drum 54
9 kt EH 10:55 PM · 1.3 ftL 2:07 AM · 1.2 ft
- Jug Creek61
Bay · 0.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 61
- Spotted seatrout 60
- Florida pompano 55
9 kt EH 10:55 PM · 1.3 ftL 2:07 AM · 1.2 ft
- Back Bay60
Bay · 1.0 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 60
- Red drum 58
- Spanish mackerel 58
9 kt EH 10:55 PM · 1.3 ftL 2:07 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.