This year’s recreational flounder season is Sept. 1-14, the same dates as 2025, the two agencies that manage fishing in state waters announced Wednesday.
Anglers are allowed to keep one flounder per day if it is 15 inches or longer and was caught with hook and line in inland, coastal and joint fishing waters.
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The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries manages coastal waters, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission manages inland fishing waters, and they work together to manage joint fishing waters, where coastal and inland waters meet.
The division said in a release that the recreational flounder seasons are scheduled for the same two weeks “so the season, size limit and daily bag limit will be consistent across jurisdictions.”
“North Carolina’s decision to open the 2026 recreational season to match last year’s season stems from a review of recreational data from 2025 and deliberate management actions aimed at balancing sustainability with angler access.” Division Director Kathy Rawls said in a statement. “Whenever we can, we aim to provide some consistency in the recreational flounder seasons from year to year.”
There was a time when the two agencies had conflicting rules and seasons but have been collaborating in recent years.
“We have worked closely with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries to ensure that regulations match across jurisdictional lines. This will provide regulatory consistency and avoid angler confusion” said the commission’s Inland Fisheries Assistant Chief Ben Ricks in a release from the commission.
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The following provisions will apply:
- Season opens at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 1 and closes at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14.
- Bag limit is one fish per person per day.
- Minimum size limit is 15 inches total length from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail.
- All flounder that are kept must be reported to the division through an online form or iPhone App as part of the Mandatory Harvest Reporting Requirement. Learn more.
- Gears: Hook and line and gig fisheries only. Harvest of flounder with a recreational commercial gear license prohibited.
The division sets the season, size and bag limits for coastal and joint waters, as outlined in the proclamation, to comply with provisions of the N.C. Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 4.
