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Southern flounderRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker57
- Common snook55
- Red drum54
- Gray snapper53
- Crevalle jack48
- Atlantic tarpon46
- Black drum46
- Spanish mackerel46
- Florida pompano43
- Permit43
- Gag grouper41
- Cobia40
- Gray triggerfish40
- Red grouper40
- Southern flounder40
- King mackerel39
- Red snapper39
- Spotted seatrout37
- Greater amberjack34
- Sheepshead32
Best score today · 8 AM · Southern flounder
- Now
- 403 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.5 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hunter Pass 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, Sep 21 · 10 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
91Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.6 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
70Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Southern flounder
Species seasonality
72Season: ShoulderHabitat: 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
Hunter Pass
- Depth
- Up to 4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Hunter Pass
Hunter Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is up to 4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for crevalle jack, Atlantic tarpon, black drum and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September through November.
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
- Double Bayou Pass57
Bay · 0.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 57
- Atlantic croaker 55
- Common snook 55
8 kt NEH 6:44 AM · 2.6 ftL 4:12 PM · 0.5 ft
- Little Cockroach Rock Pass57
Channel · 3.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 57
- Red drum 57
- Common snook 55
8 kt NEH 7:08 AM · 2.1 ftL 4:41 PM · 0.4 ft
- Mangrove Point49
Cape · 0.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 49
- Atlantic croaker 48
- Gray snapper 48
8 kt NEH 6:44 AM · 2.6 ftL 4:12 PM · 0.5 ft
- Sand Point49
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 49
- Atlantic croaker 48
- Gray snapper 48
8 kt NEH 7:08 AM · 2.1 ftL 4:41 PM · 0.4 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.