I’ll never forget the first time a brought home a flounder; it was a traumatic experience for the wife. All her life, she imagined a flounder to look like the one from The Little Mermaid. I guess Disney doesn’t think of these things though, and I had to be the one to destroy a childhood memory. All was forgiven that night at dinner.
As the temperature continues to cool down and water clarity increases, we will start to see flounder in the Tampa Bay area. These fish can be found in hard bottom areas with any type of structure. Tidal flow is crucial, and you want to search for them in a depth of 4 to 12 feet. Flounder bury themselves waiting for the tide to push small Clupeidae and Crustaceans past them, then they lunge out and strike.
A common technique used by most anglers targeting flounder is to put a split shot on live bait; this will bring bait to the bottom and slow them down, increasing the hook up rate. Using artificial bait at times can be more productive than live bait due to the ability of covering a larger area with continuous cast. Again, you want to use a jig head that will allow your jig to work the bottom. It will be slow; think of working a worm for bass. I know that’s why we don’t really bass fish, but hey, it’s a small sacrifice for one of the best tasting fish in our area.
We hope that you find this information helpful, and if you have any questions please reach out to our captains.
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