SOUTHERN FLOUNDER
Southern flounder are common throughout the inshore waters of the state and are caught by anglers up to the first dams in coastal rivers. But they also mix with summer flounder in nearshore waters and are therefore caught from ocean fishing piers, natural ledges and artificial reefs and in the surf.

NCDMF lists southern flounder as overfished and further says that overfishing is still occurring based on the latest stock assessment. A North Carolina Flounder FMP was approved and amended management measures implemented in 2005. The current regulations for recreational anglers include an eight-fish bag limit and a 14-inch size limit.

Southern flounder are caught mostly in the sounds, bays, estuaries, navigation channels such as the Intracoastal Waterway and at the inlets. They also are caught from the surf and sound sides or ocean piers. Like summer flounder, southern flounder strike live minnows, strip baits and jigs fished on the bottom.

Average recreational landings of southern flounder are fairly stabile at around 222,000 pounds. But in 2006, southern flounder recreational landings were higher at 357,588 pounds. For fishermen having Recreational Commercial Gear Licenses (recreational gigs and gill nets), 45,535 pounds of primarily southern flounder were landed in 2006. The eight-fish bag limit was put in place to decrease the harvest by those using nets and gigs recreationally, but it also affects hook-and-line anglers fishing in areas of abundance, such as inlets and nearshore ledges, where large catches can be made on hook and line.

Both summer and southern flounder are subject to high commercial fishing pressure, including an expanding pound net fishery in Pamlico Sound, the state’s largest water body outside the Atlantic Ocean. Commercial quotas and closures help keep the fishery intact.

Places to catch trophy southern flounder include the Cape Fear River and the southern coast inlets, including Lockwoods Folly, New River, Mason, Carolina Beach and Rich. Barden Inlet and the Morehead City shipping channel are some good central coast spots for big southern flounder. Pamlico Sound and other large, shallow sounds generally produce many smaller flounder. Inshore, great catches of the smaller fish are made in Pamlico and Core sounds. Ocracoke Inlet is a good spot farther north for big fish, as well as large numbers of fish.

SPOTTED SEATROUT
Of all inshore species, spotted seatrout or speckled trout shine the brightest for this season. These beautiful, feisty game fish are being caught like never before.

Spotted seatrout, also called speckled trout or specks, are listed as a “viable” species by NCDMF. The fish spend their life cycles in estuaries, resulting in the fact that environmental factors rather than fishing pressure have relatively greater influence on their size and abundance. In North Carolina, cold winters are bad news for specks and speck fishermen, since extended freezing temperatures can cause the population to plummet. Hurricanes, red tides and excessive fresh water entering estuaries also ruin speckled trout habitats. But in good years, the trout have large spawns and they mature quickly. For these reasons, speckled trout boom-and-bust cycles have become legendary.