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Southern flounderRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker68
- Common snook67
- Atlantic tarpon65
- Gray snapper63
- Red drum63
- Black drum58
- Permit58
- Southern flounder57
- Crevalle jack55
- Gag grouper55
- Gray triggerfish51
- Red grouper51
- Red snapper51
- Spanish mackerel51
- Spotted seatrout51
- King mackerel47
- Greater amberjack46
- Cobia42
- Florida pompano38
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 10 PM · Southern flounder
- Now
- 575 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Devils Elbow 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
Monday, Oct 5 · 9 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
96Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.7 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
86Wind: 1 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
61Water temp: 85°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Southern flounder
Species seasonality
81Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
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
Devils Elbow
- Depth
- 3-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · 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 Devils Elbow
Devils Elbow is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, permit and southern flounder. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May 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.
- 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
- Blind Pass70
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 70
- Atlantic croaker 68
- Atlantic tarpon 66
2 kt WNWL 6:20 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:34 AM · 1.8 ft
- Boca Ciega Bay67
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 67
- Atlantic croaker 64
- Gray snapper 62
2 kt WNWL 6:20 PM · 0.5 ftH 12:34 AM · 1.8 ft
- Long Bayou56
Bay · 2.7 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 56
- Atlantic croaker 55
- Common snook 53
2 kt WNWH 11:38 PM · 1.9 ftL 4:21 AM · 1.4 ft
- Turtlecrawl Point53
Cape · 2.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 53
- Atlantic croaker 49
- Gray snapper 49
2 kt WNWH 11:38 PM · 1.9 ftL 4:21 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.