Texas Flounder Regulations 2026: Size Limit, Bag & Gigging

The minimum size limit for flounder in Texas is 15 inches total length, the daily bag limit is 5 fish, and the season is closed every year from November 1 through December 14. Those three numbers cover almost every question anglers ask before a trip. Gigging is legal during the open season and is a genuine local tradition in the Brazosport area, with dedicated charter operations running night flounder trips through the Christmas Bay complex each fall.

Here is everything you need before you go: the current size and bag limits, how to measure a fish so you stay legal, what happens if you keep a short one, where to gig near Freeport, what the latest science says about flounder numbers, and how to target them on rod and reel. For the biology, seasonal patterns, and tackle in depth, see the full Brazosport flounder species guide.

What is the legal size limit for flounder in Texas?

The legal size limit for flounder in Texas is a 15-inch minimum total length, with no maximum. Any flounder shorter than 15 inches must be released. The following limits are valid September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026, per TPWD’s flounder bag and length limits page, and they apply to southern flounder, gulf flounder, and all other flounder species and their hybrids.

Rule	2026 Limit
Minimum length	15 inches (total length)
Maximum length	No limit
Daily bag limit	5 fish
Possession limit	5 fish (equals daily bag)
Annual closure	November 1 through December 14 (bag limit = 0)
Season reopens	December 15

The same limits apply whether you catch the fish on rod and reel or by gigging, and whether you are fishing the bays, the jetties, or the surf. A Texas fishing license with a saltwater endorsement is required to keep flounder in both state and federal water.

How do you measure a flounder for the size limit?

Flounder are measured by total length, so you measure the whole fish, not the body alone. Lay the flounder flat with its mouth closed and measure in a straight line from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail. Per TPWD’s general fishing regulations, total length is measured with the tail fin squeezed or pinched together to give the maximum overall length, so a fish gets the benefit of its longest possible measurement.

That pinched-tail detail matters on a flounder, because the broad tail can add close to an inch when it is fanned out versus pinched. Carry a rigid measuring board or a tape stuck to the gunwale, lay the fish flat, and close the tail. If a fish is borderline at 15 inches, the safe and legal call is to release it. A game warden measures the same way, and “it looked close” is not a defense.

Photo: Sawyer Baran — CC BY 4.0 ( source )

What is the penalty for keeping an undersized or over-limit flounder?

Keeping a flounder under 15 inches, or more than 5 in a day, is a Class C Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor. Per TPWD’s laws, penalties, and restitution rules, a Class C violation carries a fine of $25 to $500, and each illegal fish can be charged as a separate violation, so a cooler of short flounder adds up fast.

The fine is not the end of it. TPWD also pursues civil restitution for the replacement value of the wildlife taken, on top of any criminal fine. Refusing to pay restitution blocks you from buying new licenses or tags, and serious or repeat offenses can escalate to license suspension for up to five years and forfeiture of the gear used. The economics strongly favor releasing anything short.

Did the flounder limits change for 2026?

No. The size limit, bag limit, and closure dates are unchanged for the 2025-2026 license year: a 15-inch minimum, a 5-fish daily bag, and the November 1 through December 14 closure. The TPWD flounder limits page lists these as valid September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026.

Flounder rules have changed meaningfully in recent years, so it is worth checking each license year rather than assuming. After the 2020 emergency action, TPWD raised the minimum size and reworked the fall closure into the current November 1 through December 14 window. For the 2025-2026 year, the framework is the 5-fish, 15-inch, mid-fall-closure structure described above.

Why is flounder season closed in November?

Texas closes flounder season from November 1 through December 14 to protect the fish during their fall spawning migration, when they concentrate in Gulf passes and become extremely vulnerable to harvest. Flounder are fall spawners: as water temperatures cool in October and November, southern flounder migrate from the bays toward Gulf passes to spawn offshore. During this migration they concentrate in the passes and nearshore waters in predictably high numbers, which historically made them extremely easy to harvest, particularly by gigging.

That vulnerability is exactly why TPWD protects the window. Flounder killed during the spawn run never reproduce, and the concentrated nature of the migration means pressure during this period is disproportionately damaging to the population. The closure is a state rule because flounder are an inshore, state-water species, set by Texas Parks and Wildlife rather than federal managers, the distinction we cover in our guide to Texas state waters versus federal waters.

The closure originally came out of a 2020 emergency action when TPWD halted the fall gigging season entirely due to declining stock assessments. The November 1 through December 14 window became a permanent fixture in the regulations the following year.

What makes this closure especially important: a 2024 study by Texas Sea Grant and the Harte Research Institute found that traditional creel surveys had been massively undercounting flounder harvest. By analyzing over two and a half years of guided gigging trip photos posted to Facebook, researchers found that when nighttime gigging was factored in, total annual flounder harvest was nearly double previous estimates. The real harvest pressure on the population had been invisible to managers for years.

That finding reframes the conservation story. It is not just that flounder numbers declined; the full scale of the pressure causing the decline was not understood until recently. The closure is a direct response to that data.

Flounder Gigging in the Brazosport Area

Gigging is an established part of the Freeport fishing calendar, not a niche activity. Multiple guide operations run dedicated flounder gigging charters out of the area, working the West Galveston Bay and Christmas Bay complex in particular. The local season, when conditions are best, runs late August through October before the November closure.

The activity also shows up in tournament fishing. Fishin’ Fiesta, Brazosport’s major annual fishing event held each July since 1947, includes a largest flounder category in its inshore division. The River’s End Fishing Tournament also carries a flounder category.

Gigging is not technical fishing. You are moving slowly through shallow water, by wading or by boat, with a bright underwater light aimed at the bottom, looking for the distinctive outline of a flounder lying flat in the sand. A gig pole with a pronged tip is thrust straight down when a fish is spotted. The light, not the gig technique, does most of the work.

Where is the best flounder gigging near Freeport?

The Christmas Bay complex is the best flounder gigging area near Freeport, the most consistently cited productive spot in the region: hard sand bottoms with good water clarity and manageable depths for wading and poling a shallow boat. It sits in the same lightly pressured Brazosport bay system that makes Freeport a quieter inshore alternative to Galveston.

Named locations with the most forum and charter mentions:

Location	Notes
Christmas Bay complex	Top local area; sand bottom, clear water, accessible by shallow-draft boat
Churchill Bayou	South end near Amigo Lane put-in; productive but muddy near the marsh shorelines
Drum Bay / Rattlesnake Point	South shoreline; firm sand bottom near marsh drain outflows
West Galveston Bay south shore	Hard sand bottom outside marsh drains; the bay system north of the Freeport complex
ICW edges (Bastrop Bayou, Chocolate Bayou, Oyster Creek drains)	Flounder hold near current and structure along the intracoastal
Brazos River mouth flats	Active bait movement concentrates flounder near the river outflow

Best conditions for gigging: calm water with no chop (wind under 10 mph), clear visibility to the bottom, incoming or early outgoing tide, water temperatures in the 65 to 75°F range. September and October are peak months. Nights around the new moon give the darkest conditions and make your light more effective. Check current Freeport fishing spots and conditions before you launch.

Flounder Gigging Equipment

A basic gigging setup is straightforward. You do not need expensive gear, but the light is the single most important investment.

What to look for on the bottom: flounder lie flat and partially bury themselves in sand or soft mud. You are looking for the distinctive eye, the outline of the body, and sometimes just a slight depression with a fin edge visible. In clear water and good light, they are unmistakable once you have seen a few. The fish does not move until the gig is in the water. Patience and a slow approach are more useful than speed.

Legal note: gigging is legal in Texas during the open season and all standard size and bag limits apply, so the 15-inch minimum holds whether you gig or cast. During the November 1 through December 14 closure, gigging is prohibited.

Rod and Reel Flounder Fishing Near Freeport

You do not need to gig to catch flounder. Charter trips from Freeport regularly produce flounder on conventional tackle, and September through October is the peak season on rod and reel as well. The same 15-inch, 5-fish limits apply.

Tactics that work:

Flounder are ambush predators that lie on the bottom and wait for bait to pass overhead. The bite is not aggressive. They grab the bait and hold it, then move. The technique is a slow drag: cast to channel edges, spoil banks, or the base of structure, let the lure sink to the bottom, and drag it back slowly with occasional brief pauses. If you feel resistance that does not run, set the hook.

Productive lures and rigs near Freeport:

• Gulp! Swimming Mullet or Shrimp on a 1/4 to 3/8 oz jig head, the single most consistent producer for inshore flounder statewide
• Live mud minnows or finger mullet on a Carolina rig (egg sinker, 12 to 18 inch leader, #2 hook)
• DOA Shrimp in natural or chartreuse
• Soft plastic paddle tails in white, chartreuse, or root beer

Best spots on rod and reel:

• ICW channel edges and spoil bank drop-offs
• Brazos River mouth, where flounder stack near the outflow in the fall
• Jetty base and the rock piles on the south jetty
• Bay shoreline structure: dock pilings, oyster reefs, any hard bottom transition

What’s Happened to Flounder Numbers Since 2020?

Honestly: recovery has been slow and the picture is still mixed.

TPWD’s coastal fisheries stock data shows flounder populations have not rebounded as quickly as managers hoped following the emergency closure. The Stunz 2024 study helped explain why: for years, the real harvest pressure from gigging was not captured in survey data, so managers were working with an incomplete picture of what the population was actually absorbing.

TPWD has responded with a hatchery stocking program that has released hundreds of thousands of juvenile flounder into coastal waters, much of it produced at Sea Center Texas in Lake Jackson. The program is ongoing, though researchers are still working to improve survival rates from the hatchery to the wild environment.

The fishery is being managed more carefully than it ever has been. Whether that translates to meaningfully higher catch rates in the Brazosport bays over the next few seasons is something local captains will report before any published stock assessment does. Check the TPWD coastal fishing reports for real-time anecdotal catch data from Brazoria County.

The honest answer for an angler planning a fall trip: flounder are catchable, the gigging season in September and October is still productive, and the regulation framework is designed to protect the fishery through the critical November spawn window. Fish the open season, respect the closure, measure to 15 inches, and release anything undersized.