UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Southern flounderRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook65
- Gag grouper65
- Red grouper63
- Atlantic croaker62
- Gray triggerfish62
- Red snapper62
- Gray snapper61
- Red drum61
- Atlantic tarpon60
- Florida pompano60
- Black drum59
- Spanish mackerel59
- King mackerel58
- Greater amberjack56
- Southern flounder55
- Crevalle jack54
- Permit53
- Spotted seatrout48
- Cobia47
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 9 AM · Southern flounder
- Now
- 558 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Cat Point Bank 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 · 8 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
72Tide: FloodingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
65Water temp: 90°F, hotLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Southern flounder
Species seasonality
54Season: 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
Cat Point Bank
- Depth
- 3-8 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bank · Inner · Semi-exposedBank · 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 Cat Point Bank
Cat Point Bank is a bar in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bank, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gag grouper and red grouper. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for gag grouper, red grouper, gray triggerfish and red snapper. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gag grouper peak from October through December. Red grouper peak from April through July.
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.
- Gag grouper
- Gag hold on ledges, rock piles and wrecks, from 15 to 40 feet in the fall on Florida's Gulf coast out to 250 feet the rest of the year. Troll deep-diving plugs to find productive rocks, then anchor and drop or freeline live pinfish or pigfish on a strong circle hook. Keep the drag tight and turn the fish in the first few seconds or it will reach the rocks.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Maximo Channel73
Channel · 0.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 73
- Common snook 73
- Atlantic tarpon 71
5 kt ENEH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ftL 4:14 AM · 1.4 ft
- Main Channel71
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 71
- Common snook 70
- Atlantic tarpon 68
5 kt ENEH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ftL 4:14 AM · 1.4 ft
- Cats Point68
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 68
- Red drum 66
- Gray snapper 65
5 kt ENEH 12:20 AM · 1.9 ftL 5:20 AM · 1.4 ft
- Middle Ground65
Bar · 0.8 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 65
- Atlantic croaker 62
- Gray snapper 61
5 kt ENEH 11:57 PM · 1.8 ftL 4:14 AM · 1.4 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.