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Southern flounderRetention openBar · Florida
Cape San Blas Shoals
29.65°N · 85.36°W · Bar · Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker67
- Florida pompano63
- Red drum55
- Gray snapper51
- Spanish mackerel49
- Crevalle jack48
- Atlantic tarpon47
- Black drum46
- Gag grouper45
- King mackerel45
- Cobia42
- Gray triggerfish42
- Red grouper42
- Yellowfin tuna42
- Red snapper41
- Sailfish40
- Greater amberjack39
- Mahi-mahi38
- Permit38
- Southern flounder38
- Wahoo37
- Sheepshead32
- Spotted seatrout29
Best score today · 6 PM · Southern flounder
- Now
- 382 PM EDT
- Best window
- 2-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High1.3 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cape San Blas Shoals 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 · 2 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
36Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.6 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
80Wind: 6 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
36Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.4 ftSeason & habitat · Southern flounder
Species seasonality
55Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In 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 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 today
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
Cape San Blas Shoals
- Depth
- 10-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Shoal · Outer · ExposedShoal · 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 Cape San Blas Shoals
Cape San Blas Shoals is a bar in Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 10-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 23 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, Florida pompano and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. 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.
- 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
- Lighthouse Bayou69
Bay · 2.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 69
- Atlantic croaker 68
- Gray snapper 64
6 kt ENEL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:00 AM · 1.2 ft
- Pig Bayou69
Bay · 3.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 69
- Atlantic croaker 68
- Gray snapper 64
6 kt ENEL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:00 AM · 1.2 ft
- Cape San Blas68
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Red drum 67
- Gray snapper 64
6 kt ENEL 6:27 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:00 AM · 1.2 ft
- Bay San Blas68
Bay · 4.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Florida pompano 64
- Red drum 56
6 kt ENEL 8:59 PM · 0.5 ftH 4:50 AM · 1.5 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.