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Southern flounderRetention openBay · Florida
Blue Hill Creek
25.91°N · 81.66°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook77
- Atlantic croaker75
- Red drum74
- Florida pompano68
- Permit68
- Atlantic tarpon67
- Southern flounder66
- Gray snapper65
- Spanish mackerel65
- Crevalle jack63
- Black drum62
- King mackerel60
- Gag grouper58
- Spotted seatrout57
- Gray triggerfish56
- Red snapper56
- Red grouper55
- Cobia54
- Yellowfin tuna53
- Greater amberjack50
- Mahi-mahi49
- Sailfish48
- Wahoo45
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Southern flounder
- Now
- 6611 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding3.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Blue Hill Creek 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 · 11 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
62Tide: FloodingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 3 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
81Water temp: 85°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Southern flounder
Species seasonality
78Season: ShoulderHabitat: Prime structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
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 Catch & release (No retention)
- 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
Blue Hill Creek
- Depth
- Under 1 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder 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 Blue Hill Creek
Blue Hill Creek is a bay in Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is under 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, permit, Atlantic tarpon and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July 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.
- Common snook
- Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Coon Key Pass80
Channel · 1.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 80
- Atlantic croaker 79
- Gray snapper 71
3 kt EH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ft
- Sunfish Flat78
Flat · 1.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 78
- Atlantic croaker 76
- Red drum 74
3 kt EH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ft
- Goodland Bay78
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 78
- Atlantic croaker 76
- Red drum 71
3 kt EH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 0.5 ft
- Blue Hill Bay77
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 77
- Atlantic croaker 75
- Red drum 74
3 kt EH 12:12 PM · 3.8 ftL 6:58 PM · 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.