Best Time of Day to Catch Flounder (Inshore & Offshore)
Flounder are one of the most popular gamefish in many coastal waterways because they fight well, will bite a well-presented bait, and are good eating on the dinner plate. But deciding when to go out fishing for flounder can seem like a chore in itself. There are a ton of false answers out there and half truths. Let’s take a dive into the best times to fish for flounder.
What is the best time of day to catch flounder? The best time of day to catch flounder inshore is at max high tide when previously dry sand bars are submerged and flounder move into these areas to feed.
Offshore, the best time of day to catch flounder is early morning and late afternoon in and around wrecks and reef areas. Flounder will feed all day and all night long if food is present though.
The truth is you can catch flounder all day as long as you are willing to put in the time and effort. I have early morning just after dawn and late afternoon until sunset are the best for me.
That is when I caught the biggest flounders. Many anglers like fishing at night but the bite can be slow. Furthermore, night fishermen catch most small flounder as the bigger fish bite more during the day.
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Inshore vs. Offshore
Inshore flounder generally hang out creek mouths, grasses, and channels. These fish can be caught around the high tide with water rushes into the backs of bays exposing a ton of new water to flounder.
The high tide also gives access to grassy edges that are teeming with life. Flounder rush into these shallow flats to eat shrimp and fish.
The best time of day I have found to fish these flounder is at high tide. Low tide forces flounder back and away from prominent food sources. The middle of the day can be really slow for inshore flounder fishing.
The bright sun exposes these shallower fish to attacks from ospreys flying overhead looking for flounder hunting in the shallows.
As a result, flounder prefer to sit tight during the day and feed more aggressively at high tide when they are safer. Offshore flounder are closely associated with deep structure like wrecks and reefs.
These fish will feed all day and into the night as long as food is present. Many anglers like fishing at night but the big flounders bite mostly during the day.
Smaller flounder make up the bulk of night catches. I have found the reduced light hours of early morning and late afternoon until sunset are the best for both quantity and size of fish. Flounder can be caught during the middle of the day as well offshore.
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Best Time to Catch Biggest Flounder
If you are fishing inshore, the best time of day to catch big flounder is around high tide and the hour right after peak tide. During this time flounder have the greatest access to shallow water and hunting grounds.
Whether you are fishing or gigging for flounder, high tide will be your best bet. At low tide, flounder are forced out of the shallows and scatter into deeper water where they are harder to locate.
Offshore flounder fishing is good all day long and can be good at night too. Out here, food is the biggest predictor to flounder fishing success. If there is food available, flounder will feed.
The best time of day to catch big flounder offshore is early morning and late afternoon. The middle of the day can be great too. Nighttime is good for smaller flounder but bigger flounder prefer daytime feeding.
When Flounder are Most Active
Flounder are the most active early in the morning and late in the afternoon offshore at sites like wrecks and reefs. Inshore, flounder are the most active swimming and feeding at high tide.
You can find them searching for food near grasses, channels, flats, and at the mouths of feeder creeks. The middle of the day is when flounder tend to really hunker down to avoid getting spotted by ospreys hunting overhead.
How Tides Affect Flounder
Offshore, I haven’t seen a ton of correlation between tide status and flounder fishing success. A lot of anglers pattern around the tides because a high tide allows them to safely launch their boats from the marina whereas a low tide is pure danger.
But once you are miles from shore, the tide really doesn’t affect flounder as much as the availability of food will. If you are going to fish flounder offshore, fish near wrecks and reefs if you can locate them.
These sites hold a ton of fish and attract flounder. Because there is so much life at these locations, tides won’t have a huge effect on flounder.
The same cannot be said for inshore flounder. Tides are everything to flounder fishing in shallow water. Low tide forces flounder back away from the rich hunting grounds in back bays and grassy edges.
When the tide rushes back in at high tide, flounder swim into the shallows and start feeding. They will also move to the mouths of creeks and inlets where food is washed down from upstream. The high tide gives them better and safer access to these creek mouths.
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Best Season for Flounder
Depending on whether you fish inshore flounder near flats and grass or offshore along bars, reefs, and wrecks, you can catch flounder best in the late spring and summer months.
During this time, flounder are feeding pretty much all day with the abundance of food items and juvenile fish in the water to munch on.
The weather is nice and flounder will head for structure like reefs and wrecks in search of food. These locations hold a ton of baitfish and shrimp during July and August especially.
In New Jersey where I did a ton of flounder fishing growing up, most flounder tips coincided with the summer months.
Not only were tourists in town during the summer, but the flounder action was red hot. If you want to avoid the crows of tourists, fish for flounder in the fall. In shallow water, flounder feast on shrimp and small baitfish along the edges of grasses and creek mouths.
As summer turns to fall, flounder become very voracious feeders as they prep for the winter months. I personally like fishing during the summer because the weather is nice and flounder are consistently biting, but if you can brave the chill, fall time fishing can be very exciting too.
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Can You Catch Flounder at Night?
You can catch flounder at night both inshore and offshore but you have to be willing to work. Flounder are visual predators and it will take them longer to locate food at night.
Also, in some locations with heavy shark populations, the night may not be the best time for flounder to be swimming about looking for food. From my experience and in doing research for this article, the flounder you most commonly catch at night tend to be smaller.
Bigger flounder simply prefer hunting during the day when they can select better food sources. If you are going to fish at night, be patient.
Let your baits soak longer and don’t move them. Simply fish with cut bait like squid until the flounder come to your hook. Lures or moving baits are a no go for nighttime fishing.
Best Time for Gigging
The best time for gigging is probably at or just after high tide. Flounder will be swimming around the shallows hunting shrimp and other food items. Not only will they be in shallow enough water for gigging, but you will be able to see them as they swim about.
During the middle of the day, flounder gigging is really slow typically because flounder will hunker down or head to slightly deeper water to avoid getting snatched up by an osprey.
As a result, flounder will either be motionless and thus hard to find or swimming in too deep of water to be gigged successfully. Don’t bother trying to gig during the heat of the day.
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