Paralichthys lethostigma / dentatus
The ambush flatfish — buried at bottom transitions waiting to inhale anything swimming by. Slow drags, patient hooksets, and a legendary dinner plate at the end.
Drag bait or a jig SLOWLY across bottom transitions — creek mouths, drop-offs, structure edges. Feel the thump, wait three seconds, then sweep. Fall run is the season.
Guide data is editorial and general — conditions, regulations, and fish behavior vary by water. Photo: NOAA Fisheries.
Use these field marks and context clues to separate flounder (southern & summer) from similar fish before logging or keeping one.
Drift channels dragging bucktails; the drift covers the transition line for you.
Fish the pilings' down-current sides with live minnows on Carolina rigs.
Work jetty pockets and the deeper corner of the first gut.
Drift-drag with the tide through passes and channels.
Creek mouths on foot at falling tide are prime — small water, big results.
Every estuary from Massachusetts to Texas; southern flounder rule the Gulf, summer flounder (fluke) the mid-Atlantic.
Summer flounder (fluke) have 5 ocellated spots arranged in an X near the tail; southern flounder lack ocellated spots.
Size limits, bag limits, seasons, and gear rules change every year and differ by state (and often by individual water). Always verify with the official source before keeping fish.
