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Southern flounderRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook81
- Gray snapper77
- Atlantic croaker71
- Crevalle jack70
- Red drum70
- Spanish mackerel70
- Atlantic tarpon68
- Southern flounder67
- Florida pompano65
- King mackerel65
- Permit62
- Black drum60
- Cobia60
- Spotted seatrout60
- Gag grouper59
- Greater amberjack57
- Gray triggerfish55
- Red grouper55
- Red snapper55
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 PM · Southern flounder
- Now
- 678 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8-10 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Clearwater Harbor 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
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 1.4 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
67Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Southern flounder
Species seasonality
68Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: 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
Clearwater Harbor
- Depth
- 3-8 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Clearwater Harbor
Clearwater Harbor is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for crevalle jack, Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September.
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.
- Gray snapper
- Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Clearwater Pass83
Channel · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 83
- Atlantic tarpon 77
- Gray snapper 76
5 kt ENEH 11:03 PM · 2.4 ftL 4:01 AM · 1.6 ft
- Mandalay Channel81
Channel · 1.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 81
- Gray snapper 76
- Atlantic tarpon 76
5 kt ENEH 11:03 PM · 2.4 ftL 4:01 AM · 1.6 ft
- Pope Channel81
Channel · 1.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 81
- Gray snapper 76
- Atlantic tarpon 76
5 kt ENEH 11:03 PM · 2.4 ftL 4:01 AM · 1.6 ft
- Clearwater Bay80
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 80
- Gray snapper 76
- Red drum 74
5 kt ENEH 11:03 PM · 2.4 ftL 4:01 AM · 1.6 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.