The 2024 season will last four days and will be limited to inland and common waters.
North Carolina anglers will have a 2024 flounder fishing season after all, but only in the state's inland and community waters. The season will last a total of four days and be split into two sections, with the first section taking place on September 1st and 2nd (Labor Day Sunday and Monday) and the second section taking place the following weekend on September 7th and 8th. Anglers will have a daily fish pot limit of one fish and a minimum size limit of 15 inches. Gigging will be illegal, as the season will only be open to anglers using hook and line.
The flounder fishing season was announced by the NCWRC, which has jurisdiction over inland and common waters, on July 25, 2024. Earlier this year, the Marine Fisheries Commission, which has jurisdiction over the state's coastal waters, declared that no recreational flounder fishing season would be held in 2024 in coastal waters.
This season and the behavior of North Carolina's waterways creates a dilemma for flounder anglers: they can launch from a dock in North Carolina's coastal waters, catch flounder while fishing in inland waters or common waters, and return to a coastal dock with the flounder they legally caught, but if inspected by a game warden at the coastal dock (or while en route), the angler could be fined.
Separate from the opening of the four-day flounder season, NCWRC Chairman Monty Crump has asked the Marine Fisheries Commission to change the recreational flounder allocation from 30% to 50%. The NCWRC has determined that a 50% recreational allocation would allow for a four-day recreational season without exceeding the flounder quota in Amendment 3, and has asked the MFC to use the 50% allocation as a guideline to open the recreational season in 2024 in coastal waters. Chairman Crump said the Marine Fisheries Commission has not responded to their letter.
Please see the letter below from NCWRC Chairman Crump to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Brian Cope is the editor of Carolina Sportsman. He is an award-winning writer, photographer and videographer. He is a retired Air Force combat communications engineer and holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of South Carolina. He can be reached at brianc@carolinasportsman.com.
