Flounder — Sebastian, Florida

Flounder run at Sebastian Inlet mainly in December and January, starting when FWC's fall closure ends on November 30 and fading as the water turns cold.

The dated record comes from the Sebastian Inlet District weekly fishing report, which is published on Mondays and listed on the District's index by week and year from December 30, 2024. Across the 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026 winters, those reports put the strongest flounder bite in the first weeks after the season reopens on December 1, through early January.

The window is short. On January 6, 2025, the District reported that the strong flounder bite had tapered off between the jetty and the T-dock, and on January 12, 2026 the guide wrote that the flounder bite had fallen off the wagon again, adding that finger mullet, the preferred bait, had been hard to come by. Tide timing matters at Sebastian Inlet, since the December 2025 report favored the start of the outgoing tide and the December 2024 report the incoming; NOAA publishes tide predictions for station 8722004, Sebastian Inlet bridge.

The December 2025 reopening at Sebastian Inlet produced the biggest documented flounder, led by a seven-pound fish at the south jetty.

On December 8, 2025, the headline of the Sebastian Inlet report was that the buzzword is flounder. At the south jetty, the report said, all the fuss was about the flounder: the season had reopened on December 1 and the cooler water had drawn them in. Both tides were producing, with the beginning of the outgoing tide the better time. Several fish in the three to four-pound range were caught that weekend, anglers who had fished all week reported more than 10 fish, and the biggest was a nice seven-pound flounder. Smaller fish of 14 to 16 inches were caught as well.

Bait split by size. The same report said finger mullet had been the bait of choice for the bigger flounder, with live shrimp and thumper jigs accounting for the smaller fish. A week later, on December 15, 2025, the action had slowed and the fish near the T-dock were on the smaller side, 12 to 14 inches, below the 14-inch keeper size.

The bite then moved inside. The January 5, 2026 report said all the fuss at the T-dock area was about the flounder bite that had picked up between the cleaning station and the bridge, where flounder in the 3 to 5-pound range had been caught on live finger mullet on either tide.

Sebastian Inlet flounder are caught along the inside shoreline between the cleaning station and the bridge, at the south jetty, in the surf pocket and by boats along the mangroves.

The inside shoreline is the most consistent zone. On December 30, 2024, the flounder bite continued on the incoming tide on live finger mullet and mud minnows, and boaters drifting the mangroves were getting a few flounder along with small snook and spotted seatrout. On December 29, 2025, anglers fishing west of the tide pool along the rocks around the steel were getting smaller flounder of 12 to 15 inches on live shrimp and mud minnows.

The beach side of the south jetty is the second zone. The same December 29, 2025 report described the surf close to the jetty as a nice staging area for flounder before they enter the inlet, and by January 5, 2026 the surf pocket was finally producing decent flounder on small rubber swimbaits, live finger mullet and mud minnows.

The lagoon side counts too. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's fishing page for Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, in the Indian River Lagoon north of Sebastian, names flounder among the redfish, snook, sea trout, mangrove snapper and jack crevalle found in the refuge's open water areas, where fishing is permitted.

After January, Sebastian Inlet reports describe fewer and smaller flounder, with occasional keepers in March and April and small summertime fish in June.

Spring produces scattered keepers. On March 10, 2025, the District's fishing guide saw a couple of 14 to 16-inch flounder caught on the incoming tide, and on March 2, 2026 the high tide along the wall and the beach pocket area gave up a couple of keeper flounder with small snook and seatrout. The April 14, 2025 report mentioned a couple of keeper flounder caught in the pocket area on the beachside of the Sebastian Inlet south jetty on live shrimp.

Summer fish are small. On June 16, 2025, anglers farther west along the Sebastian Inlet shoreline were catching small summertime flounder using live shrimp, and the report reminded readers that flounder must be 14 inches to keep.

Flounder at Sebastian must be 14 inches total length, with 5 per person per day, and harvest is closed every year from October 15 through November 30.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission applies one set of flounder rules to Gulf and Atlantic state and federal waters off Florida, including Sebastian Inlet and the Indian River Lagoon. As listed in October 2026, the minimum size is 14 inches total length, the daily bag limit is 5 per person, and flounder are closed annually from October 15 through November 30. Legal gear is spears, gigs, hook and line, seine and cast net; multiple hooks with natural bait and snatching are prohibited. The rules cover Gulf, southern, summer and fringed flounder.

The closure explains the December surge in the Sebastian Inlet reports: harvest resumes on December 1, when the water is cooling and fish are moving past the jetties. The 14-inch minimum explains the frequent releases noted in December 2025, when many fish measured 12 to 14 inches.