Species
Texas flounder season — and the Port Aransas run
Flounder carry the strictest seasonal rule on the Texas coast, and it lands exactly when the fishing peaks here. The dates, the limits, and the reason, sourced and stamped.
Free estimate
Estimate your cost
Step 1 of 4
When is flounder season in Texas?
Open year-round except the fall closure: November 1 through December 14 the bag is zero by every method, gigging included — figures from the 2026–2027 license year, verified below. Note that TPWD's own older FAQ pages still describe a superseded November-only rule; the pocket guide is the source of record. TPWD Outdoor Annual, saltwater bag and length limits, 2026–27 edition
| Daily bag | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 15 in | none |
Closed Nov 1 – Dec 14 (bag 0, all methods). Possession equals the daily bag, not double.
- Verified against
- TPWD Outdoor Annual, saltwater bag and length limits, 2026–27 edition (2026–2027 license year, valid through 2027-08-31)
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-29
- Next revision
- Texas re-issues these rules every September 1; this page is re-verified against the new edition when it publishes
Texas Sea Grant notes TPWD is reassessing whether the closure dates still align with the species’ biology, so treat this as the rule most likely to move at the September revision. The flounder row in the full coastwide table is on the licenses and limits page.
When is the flounder run in Port Aransas?
TPWD puts the migration from October to December: flounder leave the bays for the Gulf through the channels and passes, and Port Aransas's ship channel is precisely such a pass. TPWD adds that males leave when water temperature drops 4 to 5°C — and the local station data shows why that lands here on schedule. TPWD — Flounder Fishing in Texas
At the Port Aransas tide station, the average October-to-November temperature drop across 2021–2025 was 4.8°C, computed from the station’s own observations — which is why the run reliably fills that window, and why the season’s quietest stretch for other trips is flounder’s loudest.
How do you fish the run without breaking the rule?
Fish October hard, release everything in the closure, and know the gigging rules before a night on the flats. Rod-and-reel flounder around the channel edges and pier lights is the accessible version; gigging is its own discipline with its own legal chain.
The gigging legality question has a genuinely messy answer — covered honestly on the flounder gigging page. On foot, the ship-channel piers put you directly on the migration route.
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
Why does Texas close flounder season in the fall?
Because the closure sits exactly on the migration: the fall run funnels the coast’s flounder through the passes at once, making them briefly easy to catch in bulk. Pausing harvest during that window — by every method, gigging included — is the conservation trade that keeps the fishery open the other ten and a half months.
Is the flounder possession limit really the same as the daily bag?
Yes — flounder is the one exception to the usual possession-equals-double rule in Texas salt water. Five per day is also five in possession, so a multi-day trip cannot bank a second day’s fish.
What will your trip cost?
Pick a trip type, length, and group size — the estimate is instant, free, and from current local market research.
Free estimate
Estimate your cost
Step 1 of 4