Waterlands

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Southern flounderRetention open

Cape · Florida

De Soto Point

27.62°N · 82.73°W · Cape · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 4 PM · Southern flounder

72/100Great
Now
4812 AM EDT
Best window
2-5 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High1.3 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: Thu · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 AM · now

Time12ANOW
Score48Good
Tide1.3 ftHigh
CurrentFlood0.8 kn · toward NE
Wind4 kn ESEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy48% cloud
Water87°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Southern flounder season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Southern flounder · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Southern flounder in Florida →

Spot profile

De Soto Point

Depth
2-8 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 De Soto Point

De Soto Point is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 2-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and gray snapper. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano, southern flounder and permit. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June 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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Mullet Key Channel

    Channel · 2.5 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Common snook 63
    • Atlantic tarpon 62

    4 kt ESEL 4:08 AM · 1.0 ftH 10:36 AM · 2.0 ft

  • Bunces Pass

    Channel · 1.6 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Common snook 63
    • Atlantic tarpon 59

    5 kt EL 4:08 AM · 1.0 ftH 10:36 AM · 2.0 ft

  • Soldier Hole

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    71
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Common snook 64
    • Gray snapper 61

    4 kt ESEL 4:08 AM · 1.0 ftH 10:36 AM · 2.0 ft

  • Mullet Key Bayou

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    71
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Red drum 60
    • Common snook 58

    5 kt EL 4:08 AM · 1.0 ftH 10:36 AM · 2.0 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.