Damn Good Flounder Fishing Charters

The best flounder fishing charters are:

• Flyin Tide Charters guided by Spencer C.
• Capt. Doug Fishing Guide Service guided by Barney Doug A. with 13 years of experience
• Inshore Charters guided by Hal T.
• Marsh Life Charters guided by Travis P. with 23 years of experience
• Time Off Fishing Charter guided by Jason Y. with 13 years of experience

Our Damn Good Guides currently offer 87 flounder trips, and the most popular trips are Inshore Fishing Trips guided by Joey, Carolina Beach Inshore Trip guided by Drew, and 4-6 Hour Trip – Backcountry guided by Scotty.

Our guides are rated a 4.9 out of 5 based on 8235 verified reviews on Captain Experiences.

All guides on Captain Experiences are vetted by our team. You can access their reviews, click through trip photos, read bios to get to know them, and preview trip details like species, techniques, group sizes, boat specs and more.

Looking for kid friendly flounder guides / fishing lessons? Check out our beginner and family friendly flounder guides.

Deep Sea fishing is the most popular type of fishing for flounder as well as inshore fishing, flats fishing, and nearshore fishing.

The most common fishing techniques are light tackle fishing, live bait fishing, and artificial lure fishing but bottom fishing and drift fishing are popular as well.

Prices for flounder can range anywhere from about $550 to $2,100, but the average price for a half day trip for flounder is $1,022. The average price for a full day trip for flounder is $1,453.

Hiring a guide provides a number of benefits and many choose to book a fishing guide for a combination of experience, local knowledge, convenience, and cost-effectiveness.

Working with experienced fishing guides who know the best local spots and techniques can dramatically increase your odds of a great day. Having someone who is on the water every day and knows the area like the back of their hand is going to give you the best chances of success.

Booking a guide is also more cost effective, especially if you only get out a handful of times per year. When you consider all of the costs you would incur on your own such as the price of a boat, maintenance, insurance, gas, high-quality gear and tackle, repairs, and more, you’ll find that DIY is sometimes not worth the expense.

Even if you’ve got a great setup already in your home waters, booking a guide also provides a great opportunity to experience new techniques, new locations, or even a chance at a new target species to knock off the bucket list.

The most popular season for flounder fishing is summer, and most anglers book their trips 14 days in advance.

See here for more information on flounder fishing licenses, flounder bag limits, and fishing season regulations for flounder. When in doubt, your guide will always know all the relevant flounder rules and regulations.

Flounder is an extraordinarily unique species. As a flatfish, it lives on the bottom and have adapted to have both of their eyes on the top of their head. They are actually born with their eyes on either side, and as they go through flounder puberty one eye will migrate over and one side of their body will grow darker. This side will face upwards from the ground, and camouflage the flounder with the sea floor.

There are a number of different types of flounder:

Gulf Flounder (Paralichthys albigutta): The gulf flounder is found most commonly on the panhandle of Florida and in nearby waters, although it can be found around the Gulf.

Southern Flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma): The southern flounder is a common species on the Atlantic coast and around the Gulf.

Summer Flounder / Fluke (Paralichthys dentatus): The summer flounder is common from North Carolina to Massachusetts.

Winter Flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus): The winter flounder is common from Delaware to Canada, although it can be found further south.

In addition, many types of flatfish span the globe - the Pacific side of the US is home to the olive flounder, starry flounder, and california flounder as well as the related (and much larger) halibut, and other waters around the world are home to various sole, plaice, and turbot.

Among the four species of flounder common to the East and Gulf coasts of the US, flounder can be anywhere from 8 to 20+ inches, and have a width of about half their length. The minimum keeper size is usually around 14 inches or more depending on your location. Males will generally be smaller than females.

The world record flounder of the Atlantic species above was caught by Charles Nappi in Montauk, NY in 1975 and was a massive 22.7 pound fish. The current Texas state record is a southern flounder at 13 pounds and 28 inches long.

Flounder are bottom dwellers, and live on various sea and estuary floors around the world. Different subspecies have different preferences for depth and habitat. Southern flounder will often be found close to shore in shallow waters and intracoastal flats, and make for perfect gigging fare.

Southern flounder are best caught in the summer and during their migration from October to December. Summer flounder is best in the summer, winter flounder in the winter, and gulf flounder in the spring and summer.

Flounder are bottom dwellers and tend to stick to the sea floor waiting patiently for a meal to come across, but can actually despite their appearance and build often be seen to swim to the surface in chase of a meal. When you are using light tackle, you'll want to use live bait or small soft plastics with a jig head along the bottom. The unique thing about fishing flounder is patience - some people claim you need to wait literal minutes between the thump you feel and when you set that hook.

While light tackle fishing for flounder can be great, everyone knows the real prize is gigging. Strap your lights on the boat and head out at night for an awesome time. Flats boats help you navigate the shallow waters, and LED lights help you spot the fish better.

When eating flounder there is no question about style - stuffed flounder is the way to go. When you search flounder recipes that is all you will see. Flounder is most commonly stuffed with crab, maybe some shrimp, some veggies, some crackers - everyone has their own recipe - but it is damn good when it comes out of the oven. Flounder is most often stuffed because its odd body shape encourages this since it is already flattened and ready to be opened up.