Tampa Bay’s flounder fishery has been dramatically improving over the past few years. Fortunately for those of us that like to catch and eat these tasty flat fish, flounder populations are strong enough to exclusively target them during the cooler months of the year. Two species of flounder call Tampa Bay home. The Gulf flounder is the most common and can be identified by three distinct dark spots on its back. The southern flounder is less common and usually covered in spots.