Whether you are fishing or gigging for flounder, high tide will be your best bet. At low tide, flounder are forced out of the shallows and scatter into deeper water where they are harder to locate. Offshore flounder fishing is good all day long and can be good at night too.
When can you go floundering in NZ?
Night flounder fishing in New Zealand and Australia is most popular over summer – gigging and spearing is popular and productive from November through to May, with the best months being January to April. However good flounder catches can be taken year round by spearing and gigging in the shallows.
Where can you go floundering in NZ?
Often at locations with clearer water, such as upper Akaroa Harbour, and river mouth lagoons and outside of Canterbury the coastline of Otago and Southland– spear fishing is a fun way of getting flounders at night and is the most exciting way of catching flounders.
What is the best tide to gig flounder?
Flounder move in on a rising tide, so the beginning of a rising tide may not be the greatest but if you wait an hour or two, flounder gigging may rapidly improve. This is due to the flounder starting to move in. A rising tide also opens up more ground for you to flounder gig when gigging by boat.
Where is the best place to catch flounder?
“Flounder like moving water around coves, estuaries and inlets that present fairly deep centers and shallow fringes. A sand or gravel bottom is ideal, but they’ll also feed over mud and grassy areas as well as mussel beds and creeks that empty into deeper water.
What is the best time to go floundering?
Flounder are the most active early in the morning and late in the afternoon offshore at sites like wrecks and reefs. Inshore, flounder are the most active swimming and feeding at high tide. You can find them searching for food near grasses, channels, flats, and at the mouths of feeder creeks.
When can you catch flounder?
The best time to catch flounder is during their fall migration to the Gulf, typically from October to December, in the channels and passes leading to the Gulf. Flounder may be caught using rod and reel but most people prefer gigs.
Where can I go floundering in Auckland?
Check out these incredible locations below to see just what we mean.
- Rangitoto Island.
- Cornwallis Wharf, Manukau Harbour.
- Island Bay Wharf.
- Auckland Harbour Bridge.
- Okahu Bay Wharf.
- Panmure Wharf Reserve.
- Birkenhead Wharf.
- Shelly Beach Wharf, Kaipara Harbour.
Can you catch flounder in winter?
Yes, you can catch flounder in the winter months but you will have to target them offshore or around near shore structure. Flounder move out into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean in the winter to spawn so you might have to go offshore 30 or 40 miles to find them during the cooler months.
How do you catch flounder in NZ?
Recreational anglers catch sand flounder by set netting, beach seining, spearing, and sometimes by line fishing in suitable areas with light tackle on very small 8-10 long shank hooks. Baited hooks should be fished right on the bottom.
Is flounder gigging good on a full moon?
A new moon makes for a darker night, which allows the bright flounder gigging lights to blind them and leave them stationary because they can’t see you. A full moon allows their eyes to adjust, giving them a better opportunity to spot you in advance and move out before you have the opportunity to gig them.
What is the best hook size for flounder?
Hooks can and usually should be a bit on the larger size for flounder fishing. They have large mouths full of sharp teeth, not something you really want to play with. I either use 3/0 to 5/0 circle hooks or a 2/0–4/0 worm hook for flounder fishing. Jig heads in the 1/4–3/8ths range are well suited to flounder fishing.
What color light is best for flounder gigging?
warm white light
A warm white light works best for muddy water and a cool white light works best for clear water. The Swamp Eye Lights offer the best color light for flounder gigging because they are adjustable from warm white to cool white for different water conditions.
What bait is best for flounder?
Best Baits for Flounder Fishing
He’ll use a wide variety of baitfish, but the best bait for flounder include mullet, menhaden, croakers, spot and mud minnows (killifish). Shrimp work for flounder, too, according to Mark, but take a back seat to minnows.
Is it hard to catch flounder?
Fluke is not a bad fish to start with for beginners; it’s not too hard to catch, many times of the year work, and it’s a great chance to try bottom fishing. Flounder, also called fluke, are a great target for Mid-Atlantic anglers.
Where can I find a big flounder?
Flounder are usually found in dips, depressions and the deep sides of bars, so trolling anglers target these areas. A spot that holds one fish generally holds more. If you catch a fish from an especially good piece of habitat, new flounder will move into that spot eventually.
Can you catch flounder in the middle of the day?
During the middle of the day, you can still catch plenty of flounder as long as there is some moving water, but the middle of the day usually provides a slower bite than the morning and evening.
What are flounder biting on?
Fish them on a small jig head or a short Carolina rig to keep them low to the ground. If there aren’t any mullet around, most small baitfish will do the job. Croakers, mud minnows, menhaden, and pinfish are all popular baits in their native habitat. Whatever you’re using, look for fish in the 2-3 inch range.
What does a flounder bite feel like?
Most times, a flounder bite is not neccesarily a hard bite, in fact, it might not even feel like a bite at all. There will also be sometimes where it feels like your retrieve just stops with no thump. When this occurs, you either snagged something on bottom, or a flounder has grabbed the tail of your Z-Man bait.
Can you catch flounder from shore?
What is special about flounder is that they can be caught from a very short distance of the shoreline. A casting distance of 20-50 yards is all you need in order to get them. This makes them a good fish to target when fishing low tide or shallow waters. Look for the seaward edge of the first sandbar of the beach.
What is considered a big flounder?
Flounder reach two or three feet in length and weigh one to 20 pounds while halibut grow to over six feet long and over 100 pounds.