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Southern flounderRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook71
- Gray snapper69
- Red drum67
- Atlantic tarpon66
- Atlantic croaker65
- Spanish mackerel62
- Florida pompano61
- Black drum60
- Southern flounder60
- Permit58
- Crevalle jack56
- Gag grouper56
- Red snapper56
- Gray triggerfish53
- Red grouper53
- Greater amberjack52
- King mackerel52
- Spotted seatrout52
- Cobia48
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 10 PM · Southern flounder
- Now
- 6010 PM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.1 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Mullet Key Shoal 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 10 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
93Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 3 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
65Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.4 ftSeason & habitat · Southern flounder
Species seasonality
54Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
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
Mullet Key Shoal
- Depth
- 15-25 ftSlope
- Structure
- Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · slope
- 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 Mullet Key Shoal
Mullet Key Shoal is a bar in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 15-25 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. 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.
- 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
- Mullet Key Bayou76
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 76
- Common snook 73
- Atlantic croaker 69
6 kt ENEH 11:48 PM · 1.3 ftL 4:08 AM · 1.0 ft
- Soldier Hole76
Bay · 2.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Gray snapper 73
- Red drum 72
3 kt EH 11:48 PM · 1.3 ftL 4:08 AM · 1.0 ft
- Mullet Key Channel75
Channel · 1.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 75
- Atlantic croaker 74
- Gray snapper 74
3 kt EH 11:48 PM · 1.3 ftL 4:08 AM · 1.0 ft
- De Soto Point72
Cape · 2.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Gray snapper 69
- Red drum 67
3 kt EH 11:48 PM · 1.3 ftL 4:08 AM · 1.0 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.