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Flounder (Summer)
RestrictedParalichthys dentatus
The NC rulebook, translated for the Banks.
The Short Version
North Carolina sets the keep floor at 16" — measure carefully, short fish go back. The daily creel is 4 per person per day. Season: seasonal — check current proclamation.
Keep Size
16"
Size fish must clear to be kept
Run the tape from the snout to the far edge of the tail pressed flat together — a pinched tail adds the half inch that decides a citation.
Daily Creel
4 per person per day
What one angler may take per day
Counts are per person unless the rule says "per boat," and they aggregate across everywhere you fished that day — sound, surf, and ocean all land in the same tally.
Season Window
Seasonal — check current proclamation
When harvest is legal
Proclamation-managed: the window shifts year to year, so confirm it the week you fish.
Where It Stands
Restricted
Harvest is legal only inside the posted window. The NC DMF proclamation list is the final word on dates.
Flounder around the Sounds
Summer flounder here live where the bait hides: the Roanoke and Croatan sound grass beds, the rock piles around the Oregon Inlet catwalk, and the channel edges behind Hatteras Island. The local method is a live mud minnow or Gulp on a jighead, drifted along drop-offs on the incoming tide.
The open window is the catch: NC sets the recreational season by DMF proclamation each year, and it has opened as late as September in some years. Confirm the current dates before you keep a single flattie.
The Fine Print
- •16" total length minimum for summer flounder.
- •Season opens and closes by DMF proclamation — dates move year to year, so check before fishing.
- •Southern flounder follow different rules; know which fish is on your hook before it goes in the box.