Waterlands

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Red grouperRetention open

Flat · Florida

Sunfish Flat

25.90°N · 81.68°W · Flat · Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Red grouper

81/100Great
Now
5511 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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Sun · 83

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

Time11ANOW
Score55Good
Tide3.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind3 kn Egusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 3 s
Air temp83°Hot
WeatherOvercast97% cloud
Water85°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Red grouper

Retention open
Daily limit
2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined)
Possession
Not published
Size
Minimum 20 in, total length
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Charter captain and crew bag limit is zero in state waters. No more than 4 grouper combined per person per day. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Open year-round in Gulf state waters. Federal waters close February 1 through March 31 seaward of 20 fathoms.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Groupers, 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 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)
  • Southern flounder Retention open (5 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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Red grouper is best here

Shoulder season for Red grouper · 27 more weeks at shoulder

Red grouper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red grouper · 27 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red grouper in Florida →

Spot profile

Sunfish Flat

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Flat · Inner · ProtectedFlat · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonRed grouper

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 Sunfish Flat

Sunfish Flat is a flat in Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 1-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads flat, 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 Spanish mackerel. 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

Red grouper
Red grouper live on low limestone ledges and potholed live bottom across the West Florida Shelf, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Drift to find hard bottom, then anchor and fish live pinfish, grunts or squid on the bottom with stout conventional tackle. Reel hard right after the bite, because they dive into holes, and use a descending device on fish released from 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

View all on map →
  • Snook Hole Channel

    Channel · 0.9 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Common snook 75
    • Florida pompano 69

    3 kt EH 11:36 AM · 3.8 ftL 6:24 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Highland Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Common snook 69
    • Florida pompano 69

    3 kt EL 5:41 PM · 0.6 ftH 12:11 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Grassy Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Common snook 69
    • Florida pompano 69

    3 kt EL 5:41 PM · 0.6 ftH 12:11 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Little Grassy Bay

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Common snook 74
    • Red drum 71

    3 kt EH 11:36 AM · 3.8 ftL 6:24 PM · 0.7 ft

Open in the tide map

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.