Summer Flounder

Season in South Jersey

Peak months: May, Jul, Aug.

May 2025 fluke to 7 lb in the bays from Manasquan to Cape May; June 2026 slow in Barnegat Bay but good at Somers Point; Aug 2026 IBSP surf fluke on Gulp jigs and fish to 9 lb on ocean reefs; July 2017 multiple boat limits in back bays and fish in the LBI surf. (Our inference)

Season by region

Where to find them

Back bays, channels and the ICW from Barnegat Bay to Cape May, inlet rocks with bucktails, the LBI and Island Beach surf just past the wash, Delaware Bay reefs.

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 and a separate Delaware Bay rule; check NJ rules.

Recipes for summer flounder

Typical: Many shorts in the bays. Large: To 9 lb on ocean reefs; a 12 lb doormat at the inlet rocks (2017).

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: Southern New Jersey Fishing Report, May 22 2025 (Angler knowledge)
• On The Water: Southern New Jersey Fishing Report, June 11 2026 (Angler knowledge)
• On The Water: Southern New Jersey Fishing Report, August 13 2026 (Angler knowledge)
• On The Water: South Jersey Fishing Report, July 27 2017 (Riptide, Fin-Atics, Tony's, Creekside) (Angler knowledge)
• ASMFC: Summer Flounder (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 South Jersey