Species guide · North Carolina

Summer flounder fishing in North Carolina

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 Cape Fear NC to Little River Inlet SC out 20 NM at 68, one of 9 North Carolina bay systems where the Waterlands engine is scoring it.

Season now

Peak season

Where it's scoring now All North Carolina 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

Jan: Not present
Feb: Not present
Mar: Off season
Apr: Off season
May: Shoulder season
Jun: Shoulder season
Jul: Shoulder season
Aug: Shoulder season
Sep: Peak season
Oct: Peak season
Nov: Shoulder season
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 · 9

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

68Great

Coastal waters from Cape Fear NC to Little River Inlet SC out 20 NM

Best window today 7-10 AM (77) · Best day Sun, Sep 27 at 7 AM (80) · 7 named spots

67Great

Coastal waters from Surf City to Cape Fear NC out 20 nm

Best window today 7-11 AM (74) · Best day Wed, Sep 30 at 5 PM (77) · 1 named spot

66Great

Currituck Sound

Best window today 12-4 PM (71) · Best day Wed, Sep 30 at 7 PM (77) · 75 named spots

64Good

Neuse and Bay Rivers

Best window today 8-11 AM (73) · Best day Sun, Sep 27 at 7 AM (78) · 260 named spots

64Good

Pamlico Sound

Best window today 6 AM-2 PM (73) · Best day Mon, Sep 28 at 8 AM (79) · 331 named spots

63Good

Croatan and Roanoke Sounds

Best window today 9 AM-12 PM (74) · Best day Tue, Sep 29 at 3 PM (81) · 49 named spots

63Good

Pamlico and Pungo Rivers

Best window today 8-11 AM (70) · Best day Wed, Sep 30 at 5 PM (75) · 134 named spots

58Good

Albemarle Sound

Best window today 9 AM-2 PM (69) · Best day Tue, Sep 29 at 3 PM (76) · 21 named spots

54Good

Alligator River

Best window today 9 AM-1 PM (71) · Best day Mon, Sep 28 at 8 AM (75) · 26 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

NCDMF saltwater regulations Buy a North Carolina fishing license License types

North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries. Synced with NCDMF Sep 21, 2026.

No reviewed summer flounder rule for North Carolina is on file yet. Check with NCDMF before you keep one.