Waterlands

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Southern flounderRetention open

Channel · Florida

Hurricane Pass

28.05°N · 82.82°W · Channel · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 8 PM · Southern flounder

85/100Epic
Now
632 PM EDT
Best window
7-11 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score63Good
Tide1.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.2 kn · toward NNW
Wind1 kn Egusts 9 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 6 s
Air temp88°Hot
WeatherPartly cloudy57% chance of rain
Water86°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)

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

Hurricane Pass

Depth
1-15 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 Hurricane Pass

Hurricane Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 1-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.

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 Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack, permit and Spanish mackerel. 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

  • Seven Mouth Creek

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    71
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 71
    • Permit 68
    • Common snook 66

    1 kt EL 5:06 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:31 PM · 2.6 ft

  • Little Bayou

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    69
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 69
    • Common snook 66
    • Atlantic croaker 65

    1 kt EL 5:06 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:31 PM · 2.6 ft

  • Lone Oak Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    66
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 66
    • Gray snapper 65
    • Red drum 62

    1 kt EL 5:06 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:31 PM · 2.6 ft

  • Pelican Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    66
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 66
    • Gray snapper 65
    • Red drum 62

    1 kt EL 5:06 PM · 0.6 ftH 11:31 PM · 2.6 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.