AWOL Fishing Charters

NORTH CAROLINA RECREATIONAL FOUNDER SEASON HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED!!

2026 recreational flounder season will open Sept. 1-14

MOREHEAD CITY – The 2026 recreational flounder season will open Sept. 1-14 in Coastal and Joint Fishing Waters of the state.

The two-week season is the same dates as were open in 2025.

“North Carolina's decision to open the 2026 recreational season to match last year’s season stems from a review of recreational data from 2025 and deliberate management actions aimed at balancing sustainability with angler access.” said Kathy Rawls, Director of the NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries. “Whenever we can, we aim to provide some consistency in the recreational flounder seasons from year to year.”

The season, size and bag limits comply with provisions of the N.C. Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 4. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s flounder season will open Sept. 1-14 as well, so the season, size limit and daily bag limit will be consistent across jurisdictions.

The following provisions will apply:

Season: Opens Sept. 1 at 12:01 a.m. and closes Sept. 14 at 11:59 p.m.
Bag Limit: One-fish per person per day.
Minimum Size Limit: 15-inch total length (from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail).
Mandatory Harvest Reporting Requirement: All flounder that are kept must be reported to the Division of Marine Fisheries through an online form or iPhone App. Learn more.
Gears: Hook and line and gig fisheries only. Harvest of flounder with a Recreational Commercial Gear License prohibited.
For more specifics on the recreational flounder season in Coastal and Joint Fishing Waters, see Proclamation FF-27-2026.

The commercial flounder season for internal Coastal and Joint Fishing Waters will be announced later through a separate news release and proclamation.

For More Information
Contact: Patricia Smith
Phone: 252-515-5500

Sure will miss you Mr. Tom… Thanks for always being there and teaching me everything I know about catfishing the cape fear river. You sir were a true inspiration and always stood beside me in every tournament, every fishing trip and would always correct me when I wasn’t catching so that I would. You sir were the reason I went out and caught fish every time I hit that water. Thank you for everything. I’ll see ya soon my friend 🥹.

Another great day/night with great company. This kid right here can catch a fish in a mud hole. The full moon was yesterday and yall know what that means on this river. It was tough. We had a blast catching bream bass and catfish. We ended up with around 30-40 bluegill a few bass and one big ole catfish. It was a great time. My man caught his biggest and first catfish and his biggest bass yet. I’m so glad you guys came out. I will remember this trip forever. Thank you guys so much for everything. 🤝

What an amazing time out on the water today and tonight with some beyond amazing folks. We had a local celebrity on the boat and she showed us up for sure!!What an awesome fish!! I do believe her husband will not live this one down for a while hahaha!! The young man in the middle originaly from Wisconsin but flew in from Alabama to visit and just wanted to spend some quality time on the water with the family and get som fishing in and we did just that! Thank you guys so much for coming out. Safe travels my friend I look forward to seeing you all again. 🤝

What a great time at Ocean Isle Beach today chasing flounder in the ICW. We limited out shortly after starting the day at 9 am but decided to find some new spot. I personally missed 5 I couldn’t keep a dull hook in one to save my life 😂😂. My buddy caught the biggest of the day and missed a nice 22/23 inch beside the boat. We qlso caught some Black Sea Bass and one Speckled Trout. It’s a shame the season is so short but we made the best out of it today for sure. See yall on the next one