Not just any fish...
It had to be small and fished very slowly.
That is the flounder I caught would not commit to anything but 1.5-inch salt and pepper colored curl-tailed grub tipped with a tiny piece of shrimp crawled at just above snail pace.
A four-inch jig yielded a few strikes but the clear water moving into and through the channel dictated something with a natural color and for whatever reason these fish were fixated on small stuff.
I almost never bring ultralight gear for flounder but I checked the conditions before I left the house and knew finesse fishing might be in order. Of course I brought a pool cue type rod along but it didn't take many casts to figure out, a soft approach was necessary.
Camouflage is one of the amazing traits of flounder. Can you find the flounder in this photo?
(Photo by Chester Moore, Jr.)
That is a stark contrast from statements made about flounder over the years. I'm sure you have heard them as often as I have.
"They'll hit anything you drag in front of them."
"They're just a big, dumb bottom fish."
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Flounder are extremely dynamic fish and those who pursue them during times other than the fall run understand this.
The fall run gives part-time flounder anglers a skewed view of the species because you have the vast majority of the population leaving hundreds (sometimes thousands) of square miles of bay and marsh systems and filtering through small passes en masse. These fish are on their way to spawn, need as much fat reserves and energy for the journey as possible so they feed aggressively.
Many anglers who only pursue flounder during the run (and there is not a thing in the world wrong with that) would however be hard-pressed to catch the same limits during summer when the fish are scattered all over the place or seeking holdover flounder in the winter when they barely tap a lure, are rarely hungry and in low concentrations.
Imagine if 75 percent of Lake Fork's bass population filtered through a five mile stretch of the Sabine River during the spawn. Anglers would be catching lunkers left and right, wouldn't they?
Well, that is exactly what happens during the fall run with flounder which is why fishing for them during this period is so much fun.
For those of us who can't get enough of flounder, there is however an entire calendar year to pursue them and this kind of passion reveals paralichthys lethostigma is not just any fish.
Here is a list of amazing things I have seen with flounder in the year 2010 alone...
#Flounder become extremely line shy in clear water. I have go to using straight fluorocarbon on several occasions and it made a huge difference. Unfortunately it doesn't have the hookset power of braid and I lost the biggest fish I have had on in a decade using it.
#Flounder will occasionally feed in frenzy mode and leap completely out of the water in the process. This can be an extremely difficult time to catch them unless you have exactly what they are feeding on or a lure that perfectly mimics it. When reds feed in a frenzy, they hit anything. When flounder do the same, they hit what they want to.
#They will literally follow a line of murkier water to feed in as clear water moves in an area. I watched this several times as the Sabine-Neches Waterway has had some amazingly clear water move in on incoming tides this fall.
#I watched a flounder come up from the bottom in eight feet of water following my pink Twister Tail to the surface, strike it and bring it back down. That fish by the way was donated to Sea Center Texas via the Sabine Lake roundup back in October. Maybe it will pass those aggressive genes on to this offspring. We can only hope.
#The strike of flounder can be nearly undetectable. 2010 Flounder Revolution (R) Conservationist of the Year Wayne Pedigo and I had talk about this and he saw it in a big way this year. So did I. If I was not using super sensitive braided line and was very in tune with the various ways flounder strike I would not have known I had a bite on many days.
The author tries to figure out if he has a bite or not. Often this fall the flounder bite was almost undetectable.
(Photo by Capt. Phillip Samuels)
I could go on and on but the point is flounder are vastly underrated as a sport fish but that is changing. More and more anglers are becoming aware of the incredible qualities of flounder and are in turn giving them far more respect.
Digging into this deeper realm of flounder fishing is what my Flatfish University (TM) project is all about. Make sure and go to flatfishuniversity.com Jan. 1 for an awesome new site with a couple of huge announcements and more information on how to tap into the growing pool of knowledge of our favorite fish.
I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy 2011. Big things are coming so check back frequently and feel free to contact me any time.
Flounder are not just any fish, they are the greatest and I am thankful for the opportunity to communicate my passion for the species to so many of you who feel the same way.
God bless,
Chester Moore
Matthew 2:10
Good News Letter here Chester and good viable information.
Fishing one day with mullet rigged with weight below. Slowly dragging it along the bottom. Suddenly, I could not feel my weight dragging. Couldn't feel anything. No thump and didn't get heavy.
As I slowly reeled in my bait I saw the flounder coming up with my weight in his mouth just following my bait. Of course when he saw the boat he took off.
Another time I felt a hard thump,TWICE. Waited until the time was right and set the hook. After removing the hook from his mouth I noticed my weight was in his belly. I can only guess, it must be the weight stirring up sand along the bottom that catches their attention.
You said, "paralichthys lethostigma is not just any fish."
I couldn't agree more. I wish I was somewhere between THUMP and HOOK SET right now. God I love that moment. LOL!!!
Merry Christmas my friend.
Wayne
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Merry Christmas to you and yours Wayne!
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