Flounder are perhaps the best tasting of all coastal fish, but numbers are down in many states due to overharvest, fishery managers say.
For anglers who chase flatfish from the Outer Banks down through Florida and across the Gulf Coast, the best fishing time of the year is coming—and it will be closed to harvest.
The rolling series of fall closures is timed to protect southern and gulf flounder as they gather to spawn. Flounder are one of those fish rarely released because they are perhaps the best-tasting of all coastal species—if it’s legal-sized, it goes in the box, unlike many “game” species like bonefish and tarpon which U.S. anglers chase purely for sport. Even redfish, seatrout and snook are mostly released—but not flounder.
In recent years, state agencies from North Carolina to Florida and along the Gulf have tightened seasons, raised size limits and, in some cases, shut down the spawning period completely for recreational harvest. The intent is simple: let more adults reproduce so there are more and bigger flounder on the next generation.
Is it working? The results are mixed so far, but in general seem to be positive. Managers set closures where and when flounder aggregate to spawn — typically October through December in much of the Southeast and Gulf.
Florida has used an annual statewide recreational closure from mid-October through the end of November to protect prespawn and spawning aggregations. In the Gulf states, similar seasonal blackouts have become standard: Alabama’s flounder fishery is closed through November to protect spawning migrations, and Texas has routinely shut down November to mid-December periods to reduce harvest during peak movement. Louisiana likewise observes an October 15–November 30 closure for both commercial and recreational sectors. These pauses reflect growing agreement that protecting flounder during the vulnerable migration and spawn window is a straightforward, enforceable tool.
The bottleneck in the spawning period comes as the flounder migrate out of bays and estuaries to deeper water to spawn on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Anglers are well aware of these runs and set up in the passes or just outside, put live bait on the bottom, and catch them in massive numbers. Not surprisingly, a few decades of this and flounder numbers have plummeted.
Flounder are readily caught on artificials as well as live bait worked close to bottom. (Z-Man Lures)
The patchwork of state rules — different season dates, size limits and gear restrictions — has produced both wins and frustrations.
In North Carolina, regulators went as far as not opening the recreational flounder season in 2024, a move that drew anger from inshore anglers and commercial interests alike. Other states have preferred shorter closures paired with stricter size limits or reduced bag limits, hoping to spread conservation measures without entirely quashing angling opportunity.
Those differences matter because adult flounder move along coasts and between estuaries; piecemeal protections in one state can be undermined by open seasons next door. That’s why scientists and many managers now emphasize coordinated, coast-wide strategies rather than a state-by-state patchwork.
Are the closures working? The short answer is: slowly, and unevenly. In places where closures have been paired with other measures — net bans, minimum size increases, reduced creel limits and enforcement of gear restrictions — there are encouraging signs: landings stabilize, mean sizes creep up, and a greater proportion of fish sampled in surveys are mature females. Alabama’s flounder population seems to be coming back faster than most due to these measures.
But recovery is not uniform. Some states still report downward trends in commercial and recreational landings, and stock assessments caution that rebuilding will take years, especially where recreational harvest comprises a large share of the take. The economics of the fishery complicate things, too: flounder are beloved by anglers and valuable to coastal communities, so managers have to weigh conservation benefits against real social and economic cost.
For the angler, the rules mean adapting. Shorter seasons pressure fishermen to be more selective: learn to release fish quickly and properly, favor catch-and-release techniques during pre-spawn aggregations, and pay attention to minimum sizes that protect females before they spawn.
It’s all about the eating when it comes to flounder—catch and release is rare because they are premium food fish. (Frank Sargeant)
Gigging seasons in some states have been pointed to as a significant source of mortality: You can’t release an undersized flounder that has been gigged.
Of course habitat preservation and restoration for nursery areas on the grass flats and bycatch reduction in other fisheries like shrimp trawling are also major factors in enhancing this fishery—tens of thousands of baby flounder go to waste each year as bycatch in shrimping in some areas.
As anglers, we need to remember closures are not punitive, they’re part of a multi-tool strategy to restore a fishery that delivers both sport and supper. Where managers have been bold — closing seasons, limiting gear and leaning on data — the trend lines show recovery is not only possible but relatively rapid.
Missing a few flounder dinners this fall will be well worth it if in future we can expect more and larger flounder on tap for most of each year.
— Frank Sargeant
Frankmako1@gmail.com
