Southern flounder are commonly found on the sandy, muddy or rocky bottoms of the shallow waters of bays, estuaries, coastal marine areas, rivers and lakes.
Where is the best place to fish 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 depth to catch flounder?
Early in the spring flounder are often found in very shallow waters, sometimes just a foot or two deep, in coastal bays. But once warm weather sets in most anglers fishing in bay and inlet waters find flounder between five to 30 feet of water.
Where are flounders mainly to be found?
The flounder dwells at the bottom of oceans and seas near docks, bridges, and coral reefs. Its main areas of occupancy include the tropical and temperate waters along the coasts of Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia. Some species also reside much farther north near the Arctic.
What is the best month to catch flounder?
The best time of the year to catch flounders is the late summer/early fall months. But they can be caught regularly during the spring and summer as well. The flounders migrate offshore during the colder months to spawn, so they’ll be more abundant at the beach as they move from the inshore estuaries to deeper water.
What time of day are flounder most active?
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.
What is the best bait to catch flounder?
Using live bait is essential for many flounder (fluke) fishermen around the country, and can be extremely effective for picky flounder (fluke). Shrimp, crabs, smaller flounder, sardines, shad, mullet, and mud minnows can all be great options for live bait.
How old is a 20 inch flounder?
Females grow faster than males, and juvenile summer flounder can reach a length of 9 to 12 inches during their first year. Fourteen-inch summer flounder are generally 2 or 3 years old and weigh about a pound. A twenty-inch summer flounder is usually 4 years old or older and weighs about 3 pounds.
How old is a 25 inch flounder?
7
Summer Flounder (Fluke)
| Age (years) | Length (inches) |
|---|---|
| 5 | 22 |
| 6 | 23.5 |
| 7 | 25 |
| 8 | 26 |
How do you attract flounder?
Flounder like to hide and ambush their prey, so the trick to catching them is to move enticing live bait across their path and wait for them to strike.
Use live baitfish.
- You can add some strips of fresh squid or live shrimp to vary the bait mix.
- If one type of bait doesn’t seem to be working, try another.
What is unusual about a flounder?
The flounder is morphogenetically unusual. When born it is bilaterally symmetrical, with an eye on each side, and it swims near the surface of the sea. After a few days, however, it begins to lean to one side, and the eye on that side begins to migrate to what eventually becomes the top side of the fish.
What’s the biggest flounder ever caught?
Captain Charles Nappi from Hicksville N.Y. holds the current fluke world record. Captain Nappi was fishing off of Montauk in 1975 when he landed his gigantic 22-pound, 4-ounce flatfish.
Do flounder like deep or shallow water?
While flounder are commonly found in deep water out to 100-feet or more around reefs and wrecks, for most anglers, flounder are usually targeted when they move into shallow water bays, inlets, river mouths and inshore creeks and marsh areas. These are some of the best flounder fishing areas.
Where do flounder go in the 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.
Where do flounder like to lay?
Flounder are ambush predators that like to lay in wait in spots where tide and current will bring prey to them. Places like passes, inlets, channels, points with good current, and spoil islands are great examples of spots that are likely to hold flounder.
What should I look for when flounder fishing?
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.
What lures do flounder like?
Best Lures to Catch Flounder
- Soft Plastic Grub or Paddletail Jigs. Rig with 1/4- to 3/8-ounce jig head and slowly hop the lure across the bottom around dock pilings, jetties and oyster bars.
- Bucktail Jigs.
- Stick Baits.
- Shad Tails.
- Gulp!
- DOA Shrimp.
- Aqua Clear Flounder Rig.
What temperature do flounder like?
Is there a preferred temperature range for flounder? The best water temperature for catching all species of flounder is generally between 55-68º F, although there are some noted differences in water temperature preferences between flounder of Atlantic, Pacific, and southern waters of the United States.
Are flounder active at night?
Yes, they do bite a night. You will find them on the edge of lights (ambush style). Most of your larger fish are caught during the day.
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 is a flounders favorite food?
Larval and post-larval flounder feed on zooplankton (tiny floating animals) and small crustaceans. Juveniles eat crustaceans and fish. Adults are opportunistic feeders, eating whatever food is convenient at the time, and feed mostly on fish and crustaceans.