Summer Flounder

Season in North Jersey

Peak months: Jun, Jul, Aug.

May 7 2026 opener: fluke in the Shrewsbury, Navesink, Shark and Manasquan rivers, slow with many shorts. Aug 2025: surf fluke in the wash, keepers under the Highlands Bridge, bigger fish on ocean reefs. ASMFC/NCDMF: in coastal and estuarine waters spring and summer, offshore in fall and winter. (Our inference)

Season by region

Where to find them

River mouths and channels (Shrewsbury, Navesink, Shark, Manasquan), under the Highlands Bridge, the Point Pleasant Canal, the surf wash in summer; bigger fish on ocean reefs by boat.

On the bottom along jetty walls, inlet edges and trough edges.

What to look for

Five large eyespots on the back half of the body tell it from southern flounder (no distinct spots) and Gulf flounder (three spots).

What to throw

Bucktail or jighead with a 4 to 5 in paddle tail1/2 to 1 oz, 4 to 5 in tail. Slow hops along the bottom: lift, drop, let it touch, repeat.

Jighead with a scented soft-plastic shrimp or mullet (Gulp style)1/4 to 1/2 oz, 3 to 4 in. Slow drag and hop on the bottom with pauses; scent does the work.

Sand eel teaser (dropper ahead of a plug)Weightless; the plug behind it gives casting weight oz, Small sand eel or spearing imitation: fly, Red Gill or soft plastic. Fished with the plug; slow.

Bait

Live mud minnows (spring), Live finger mullet (as water warms). Carolina rig: 3/4 to 1 1/2 oz egg sinker, about 12 in leader, No. 2 to 1/0 hook; let the current move it.

Leader

About 12 in of leader on a Carolina rig.

Common mistakes

• Setting the hook too fast on live bait
• Reeling the bait along instead of letting the current move it

Landing

Net it; do not lift a flounder by the line.

Handling

• Sharp teeth

Use pliers to unhook.

Keep or release

Good eating. NJ sets a fluke season with closed months; check NJ rules.

Recipes for summer flounder

Typical: Many shorts; keepers 18 to 24 in. Large: 8 lb off Barnegat at 70 ft.

Limits

FishOS has not checked the NJ limits yet. Check the size, bag and season rules with the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife before you keep a fish.

Sources

• On The Water: Northern New Jersey Fishing Report, May 7 2026 (Julian's, Giglio's, Fishermen's Supply, Grumpy's and other shops) (Angler knowledge)
• On The Water: Northern New Jersey Fishing Report, August 14 2025 (Angler knowledge)
• ASMFC: Summer Flounder (Official source)
• NC Division of Marine Fisheries: flounder (Gulf, southern, summer) (Official source)
• NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-151: summer flounder essential fish habitat (Official source)
• SCDNR species profile: summer flounder (Official source)

All the fish of North Jersey