Species guide
A flounder is a patient fish that rewards a patient angler. It lies flat where moving water drops bait over an edge, eats with a thump-and-hold, and punishes anyone who sets the hook too fast. The fall run through the passes is one of the coast's great traditions.
Flounder fish well from spring through early fall as they scatter across bays, creek mouths, and dock lines. The season builds to the fall run: as water cools in October, fish pour out of the bays toward the Gulf to spawn, stacking at the passes and along channel edges on their way. Both states protect the run's tail end — Florida closes harvest October 15 through November 30, and Alabama closes all of November — so the sweet spot for a fish fry is September into mid-October. A quieter second act happens in spring when they slide back inside.
The falling tide is flounder time. Water draining out of a marsh, creek, or lagoon carries bait over the nearest drop, and flounder stack at those funnels: drains, cuts, channel edges, and the down-current side of pilings and rocks. Position the boat (or your feet) so the bait moves with the current, and fish the edge, not the middle.
A bull minnow on a Carolina rig is the traditional bait, drifted or dragged with just enough weight to tick bottom. A white curly-tail grub or a Gulp! swimming mullet on a ⅜ oz jighead is every bit as good and covers more water. When you feel the thump, wait — count two or three seconds while the fish turns the bait — then lean into it. Medium spinning gear with 15–20 lb leader is all it takes.
Around Pensacola, fish the drains of East Bay and the pilings of the passes. Perdido Key's Old River docks and the pass edges hold fish most of the season. At Orange Beach, work the Ono canals' mouths on a falling tide. Mobile Bay's causeway drains and channel edges produce, and Dauphin Island is a flounder island: the bridge, the drains behind it, and the west end cuts during the run.
Both states: 14" minimum, five per day. Florida closes October 15–November 30; Alabama closes all of November. The gig fishery at night follows the same limits.
October is the classic run month, as flounder leave the bays for the Gulf to spawn. Plan the harvest trips for September through mid-October: Florida closes flounder harvest October 15–November 30 and Alabama closes all of November.
Live bull minnows (mud minnows) on a Carolina rig, or a white soft-plastic grub bounced slowly along bottom. Fish drains and channel edges on a falling tide, and pause a beat before setting the hook.
Flounder grab bait crossways and hold it while they turn it. Feel the thump, drop the rod tip, count to three, then set. Setting instantly pulls the bait straight out of the fish's mouth.
Any bridge, seawall, or drain with a falling tide can hold flounder: the Gulf State Park Pier's inshore side, Dauphin Island bridge, Perdido Key's Old River docks, and the Pensacola Bay seawalls all give shore anglers a real shot.
Links may become affiliate links that support the site at no cost to you. Any decent local tackle shop carries the same gear — the bait shops listed on each conditions page will point you right.
Conditions decide more than tackle does. The live dashboard scores the morning from NOAA tide swing, wind, and sky for six local waters, with solunar windows and marine alerts.
Seasons, size limits, bag limits, and closures change. Verify with Florida FWC and Outdoor Alabama before keeping fish.