Winter Flounder Fishing Tips
Winter flounder are generally between 4 to 6 pounds and popular as both sport fish, food fish, and bait fish. They get their name due to the habit of migrating near shore or into rivers, where they are easier to find and catch in cold-weather months. You can find winter flounder all along the Atlantic coastline of North America. Although you will find them swimming as far south as Georgia, they prefer colder northern regions.
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Location, Location, Location
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It's hard to catch winter flounder in the summer when they live in the deeper parts of the ocean and blend in with the ocean floor. However, in the winter they move to shallow water close to land. If you are familiar with the waters, you can track the fish and where they spend most of their inland time. When just starting, contact local guides or talk to other anglers to learn some of the migration habits of the winter flounder. As soon as the temperatures hit 50 degrees or higher, the large, adult flounder head back to deeper water, so if you want to catch winter flounder, you have to brave the cold and ice.
Bait
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Like most fish, winter flounder have favorite colors. Winter flounder prefer yellow and anglers do well with yellow grubs attached to sinkers. They have favorite foods, too. Flounder like clam, mussels, bloodworms, or sandworms. If you have no other options, nightcrawlers will work. Use a 6 to 12 pound test line for flounder and a size 8 or 9 flounder hook. Flounder are bottom fish that lie flat on the river or bay floor. Bait floating in the water won't attract them away from the safety of their camouflage on the bottom. Sinkers keep the bait down at the bottom where the winter flounder live.
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Method
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Keep your boat extra-steady when fishing for winter flounder. Both of the flounder's eyes are on the top side of the flattened body, which "faces" the surface of the water. This is unlike most fish, which have an eye on each side of the head. Flounder have an excellent view of what is going on directly above them and movement will spook them into not moving. In their world, movement means possible detection by predators above, so they will lie still. This means they won't go for bait even when it's right in front of them. Trolling that works with other types of fish will not go over big with a flounder. Use a chum pot to put the scent of their favorite food in the water and stir up the mud around your boat. This will attract flounder to the area thinking there are bait fish in distress.
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References
- Photo Credit flounder image by Christian Schoettler from Fotolia.com
