Summer Flounder inhabit coastal and estuarine waters during the spring, summer and fall months, then they move to offshore waters during the winter. Most summer flounder are between 2 – 4 pounds, although 15 – 20 pound fish are not uncommon. Winter Flounder spend the summer offshore in deeper waters, then they come back into the shallow coastal estuaries, rivers and bays during the winter. They are very popular among inshore anglers because you can catch them with very basic tackle and they taste excellent.
Flounder Fishing in the Tampa Bay Area
Flounder are found in the inshore waters of Tampa Bay. There is a lot of good water to fish here with all the bays, creeks, bridges, passes and more. Anglers usually catch them while fishing with live baits for redfish, sea trout or snook in the area inshore waters.
Flounder Fishing Tips
Flounder can be caught with artificial lures, however, for many anglers, live bait or natural baits are considered the norm when fishing for flounder. Flounder love hanging tight to the bottom, so pick out your favorite bottom rig and pair it with a bull minnow, finger mullet, pinfish or shrimp and you should catch some fish.
Visit our Flounder fishing page to learn more.