Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Southern flounderRetention open

Cape · Florida

Palmetto Point

27.56°N · 82.57°W · Cape · Tampa Bay waters

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 11 PM · Southern flounder

71/100Great
Now
5711 PM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.5 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Palmetto Point scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 74

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 PM · now

Time11PNOW
Score57Good
Tide1.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward NNE
Wind4 kn Egusts 10 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy51% cloud
Water87°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)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

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

Palmetto Point

Depth
2-9 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Palmetto Point

Palmetto Point is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 2-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, gag grouper, red snapper and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. 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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Custer Bayou

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    74
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 74
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Common snook 71

    4 kt EH 1:04 AM · 1.8 ftL 5:28 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Peterson Bayou

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Red drum 72
    • Common snook 71

    4 kt EH 1:07 AM · 1.9 ftL 5:53 AM · 1.3 ft

  • Sea Breeze Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    71
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 71
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Gray snapper 67

    4 kt EH 1:07 AM · 1.9 ftL 5:53 AM · 1.3 ft

  • Beville Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    71
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 71
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Gray snapper 67

    4 kt EH 12:28 AM · 1.9 ftL 5:30 AM · 1.3 ft

Open in the tide map

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.