Waterlands

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Southern flounderClosed

Cape · Florida

Hooker Point

27.52°N · 82.60°W · Cape · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 6 PM · Southern flounder

74/100Great
Now
203 PM EST
Best window
4-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.3 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Nov 11 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score20Poor
Tide0.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.1 kn · toward SSW
Wind5 kn NNEgusts 10 · steady
Air temp52°Cool
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water78°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Southern flounder

Closed
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
Oct 15 to Nov 30, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Retention open from Dec 1
Other
Annual fall closure in state and federal waters.

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 Closed (No retention)
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
  • 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 Closed (No retention)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Southern flounder is best here

Peak season for Southern flounder · 3 more weeks at peak

Southern flounder season by week of the year. Peak season for Southern flounder · 3 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Southern flounder in Florida →

Spot profile

Hooker Point

Depth
3-10 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak 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 Hooker Point

Hooker Point is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 3-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and common snook. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, spotted seatrout and red drum, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, black drum and gray triggerfish. Florida pompano peak from March through May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.

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.
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.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Snead Island Cutoff

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    66
    Top: Common snookShoulder season
    • Common snook 66
    • Spotted seatrout 66
    • Red drum 64

    8 kt ENEH 5:24 AM · 2.1 ftL 1:32 PM · 0.2 ft

  • Champlain Bayou

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    66
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 66
    • Spotted seatrout 64
    • Florida pompano 61

    8 kt ENEH 5:24 AM · 2.1 ftL 1:32 PM · 0.2 ft

  • Clambar Bayou

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    66
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 66
    • Spotted seatrout 64
    • Florida pompano 61

    8 kt ENEH 5:24 AM · 2.1 ftL 1:32 PM · 0.2 ft

  • Bishop Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    55
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 55
    • Red drum 53
    • Spanish mackerel 53

    13 kt EH 5:24 AM · 2.1 ftL 1:32 PM · 0.2 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.