Waterlands

Species guide · Florida

Summer flounder fishing in Florida

Paralichthys dentatus, a bottom species also called fluke, doormat and flounder. Listed for the South Atlantic region. Peak season, about 5 more weeks.

Right now it scores best in Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM at 73, one of 5 Florida bay systems where the Waterlands engine is scoring it.

Season now

Peak season
Where it's scoring nowAll Florida waters

Season by month

From the Waterlands saltwater species research: when the fish are present and biting, not whether retention is open.

South Atlantic

Peak season, about 5 more weeks
  1. Jan: Not present
  2. Feb: Not present
  3. Mar: Off season
  4. Apr: Off season
  5. May: Shoulder season
  6. Jun: Shoulder season
  7. Jul: Shoulder season
  8. Aug: Shoulder season
  9. Sep: Peak season
  10. Oct: Peak season
  11. Nov: Shoulder season
  12. Dec: Off season

Peak: Sep to Oct. In season (shoulder or peak): May to Nov.

Research notes, South Atlantic region

NCDMF says summer flounder are most abundant from Delaware to Cape Lookout, so this region's fishery is mainly North Carolina nearshore reefs, inlets and high-salinity sounds; southern flounder dominate the inshore catch farther south. Fall catches peak as fish stage at inlets before moving offshore. North Carolina has held its recreational flounder season to a short fall window in recent years; check NCDMF proclamations.

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

Where it's scoring now · 5

Florida bay systems ranked by the Waterlands engine's summer flounder score this hour.

1
73Great
Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM

Best window today 7-11 PM (75) · Best day Mon, Sep 21 at 9 AM (78) · 22 named spots

2
71Great
Coastal waters from St. Augustine to Flagler Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 2-11 PM (72) · Best day Thu, Sep 24 at 8 AM (75) · 4 named spots

3
71Great
Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm

Best window today 2-11 PM (72) · Best day Wed, Sep 23 at 11 AM (75) · 88 named spots

4
70Great
Flagler Beach to Volusia-Brevard County Line 0-20 nm

Best window today 2-11 PM (72) · Best day Mon, Sep 28 at 3 PM (75) · 21 named spots

5
69Great
Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

Best window today 2-10 PM (70) · Best day Thu, Sep 24 at 9 AM (73) · 92 named spots

How and where it feeds

Water temperature
Feeds from 54°F to 82°F, best between 60°F and 76°F.
Water depth
4 to 110 ft of water.
Structure
Inlet, channel, wreck, reef, bar, flat, bay and grass, in that order of preference.
Tide and current
Prefers moving water and incoming tide, with moderate current.Fluke face into the current and ambush bait carried past them, so a steady drift with the tide is what anglers need; slack water stalls the drift. In back bays the clean water of the incoming tide is the common choice. A VMRC archival-tag study found tide stage itself did not change fish movement, so treat this as a drift-quality factor.
Light
Some lift around dawn and dusk.
Pressure
Little response to pressure changes.
Wind and sea limits
18 kt of wind and 4 ft of sea. The Waterlands engine scores hours down as conditions pass them.

Tackle and technique

Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.

Methods
drift fishing, bucktail jigging, bottom fishing
Lures
bucktail jigs with teaser, soft plastic grubs and swimming mullet, spinner and squid rigs
Bait
squid strips, fluke belly strips, live killifish (mummichogs), spearing (silversides), live peanut bunker

Regulations

FWC saltwater regulations Buy a Florida fishing license License types

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Synced with FWC Sep 21, 2026. Rules shown verified Sep 13, 2026.

StatewideRetention open

5 per day · Minimum 14 in, total length

Season: No closed season on file

Changes to closed on Oct 15, 2026

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.

FWC Recreational Regulations: Flounder · verified Sep 13, 2026

Other Florida species