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Southern flounderRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker69
- Common snook59
- Gray snapper55
- Red drum54
- Florida pompano53
- Atlantic tarpon52
- Southern flounder47
- Black drum46
- Spanish mackerel44
- Permit43
- Crevalle jack42
- Gag grouper42
- Red snapper42
- Gray triggerfish39
- Red grouper39
- Spotted seatrout39
- Cobia36
- King mackerel35
- Greater amberjack33
- Sheepshead33
Best score today · 11 PM · Southern flounder
- Now
- 472 AM EDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- High1.3 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Lemon Bay 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
Thursday, Sep 24 · 9 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
70Tide: FloodingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt NNEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
67Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Southern flounder
Species seasonality
68Season: ShoulderHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: 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 Catch & release (No retention)
- 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 yesterday
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
Lemon Bay
- Depth
- 2-9 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Lemon Bay
Lemon Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, 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 Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder and black drum. 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
- Deer Creek73
Bend · 2.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 73
- Common snook 60
- Red drum 56
3 kt EL 6:08 AM · 1.2 ftH 12:12 PM · 1.6 ft
- Redfish Cove69
Bay · 2.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Common snook 59
- Gray snapper 55
3 kt EL 6:08 AM · 1.2 ftH 12:12 PM · 1.6 ft
- Point of Pines61
Cape · 2.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 61
- Common snook 54
- Gray snapper 49
3 kt EL 6:08 AM · 1.2 ftH 12:12 PM · 1.6 ft
- Cedar Point61
Cape · 3.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 61
- Common snook 54
- Gray snapper 49
3 kt EL 6:08 AM · 1.2 ftH 12:12 PM · 1.6 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.