UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Southern flounderRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook80
- Atlantic tarpon75
- Red drum73
- Spanish mackerel71
- Atlantic croaker70
- Crevalle jack69
- Gray snapper69
- Southern flounder67
- King mackerel63
- Permit61
- Cobia60
- Gag grouper60
- Gray triggerfish56
- Red grouper56
- Red snapper56
- Greater amberjack55
- Black drum54
- Florida pompano52
- Spotted seatrout52
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 8 AM · Southern flounder
- Now
- 672 PM EDT
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Venice Inlet 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 · 2 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.1 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 3 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
61Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.9 ftSeason & habitat · Southern flounder
Species seasonality
75Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: 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
Venice Inlet
- Depth
- 5-20 ftSlope
- Structure
- Inlet · Outer · ExposedInlet · 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 Venice Inlet
Venice Inlet is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 5-20 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads inlet, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, crevalle jack and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July. 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.
- 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
- Roberts Bay76
Bay · 1.1 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Gray snapper 73
- Red drum 72
3 kt NEL 5:56 PM · 0.5 ftH 11:58 PM · 1.8 ft
- Lyons Bay73
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 73
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Gray snapper 70
3 kt NEL 5:56 PM · 0.5 ftH 11:58 PM · 1.8 ft
- Eagle Point72
Cape · 1.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 72
- Gray snapper 69
- Red drum 67
3 kt NEL 5:56 PM · 0.5 ftH 11:58 PM · 1.8 ft
- Blackburn Bay66
Bay · 2.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Common snook 66
- Gray snapper 65
2 kt NL 5:56 PM · 0.5 ftH 11:58 PM · 1.8 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.