Waterlands

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Southern flounderRetention open

Bay · Florida

Passage Key Inlet

27.55°N · 82.73°W · Bay · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 3 PM · Southern flounder

79/100Great
Now
592 AM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.6 ft ▼

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 AM · now

Time2ANOW
Score59Good
Tide1.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind5 kn ESEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 3 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy37% 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 yesterday

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
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  • This week

Southern flounder in Florida →

Spot profile

Passage Key Inlet

Depth
15-20 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Inlet · Inner · Semi-exposedInlet · 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 Passage Key Inlet

Passage Key Inlet is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 15-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads inlet, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, southern flounder, Spanish mackerel and crevalle jack. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July. 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.
Atlantic tarpon
Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Bimini Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    70
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 70
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Gray snapper 65

    5 kt ESEL 4:06 AM · 1.4 ftH 10:19 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Southwest Channel

    Channel · 2.3 mi

    69
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 69
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Atlantic tarpon 64

    5 kt ESEL 4:05 AM · 1.0 ftH 10:27 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Key ROyale Bar

    Bar · 1.9 mi

    66
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 66
    • Gray snapper 60
    • Atlantic croaker 59

    5 kt ESEL 4:06 AM · 1.4 ftH 10:19 AM · 2.5 ft

  • The Bulkhead

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    66
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 66
    • Gray snapper 60
    • Atlantic croaker 59

    5 kt ESEL 4:06 AM · 1.4 ftH 10:19 AM · 2.5 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.