Pounding The Bottom For Flatties!

One of the first fish to show up in our bays and inlets after the winter cold fades is the winter flounder. The early spring brings these hearty flatfish into the shallow bays and inlets.

Raritan Bay, Navesink River and Tom’s River have a long-standing reputation as some of the better spring flounder areas and for good reason. The bays and inlets heats up quicker than other areas and flounder perk up with this warming trend.

Flounder fishing is one as my favorites. Simple tackle, mild weather and calm inshore fishing with a group of friends can make for a very enjoyable day. Don't forget the pile of nice flounder filets that will make a great meal that night.

A small conventional reel spooled with 12 lb. test line and a light action graphite rod capable of handing 1-3 ounces of sinker is ideal. I prefer spinning over conventional for shallow-water, bottom fishing. However, it is a matter of personal preference.

For terminal rigging I like to use a #8 short shank Chestertown flounder hook. Snell them on 20 lb leader material approximately 12 inches long. Attractants like yellow corn beads or small plastic grubs in yellow or florescent chartreuse work great. I tie two hooks in tandem. Tie a small dropper loop about 3 inches above your sinker loop and attach your hooks to the dropper loop.

Flounder are a curious fish by nature, always investigating a puff of mud or some other small disturbance. Smart anglers feed a flounder’s curiosity by poking and disrupting the mud bottom, releasing all sorts of tasty morsels into the current, thus attracting flounder from down tide.

Some use a long rod to stir it up. Other methods of reaching the same result could be using an old-fashioned sash weight from a window. This 5-pound lead weight tied to a line or rope can be used to “pound the bottom” as we call it. While fishing for flounder, every few minutes pound the bottom and you can see the results almost immediately. Since mussels are one of the favorite items of the spring flounder’s menu, the use of these “pounding” techniques when fishing mussel beds is a great idea too!

Spring flounder can be a little fussy when it comes to feeding at the dinner bell. You just never know and you will be sorry if you don’t have the flavor of the moment. The one best piece of advice I could pass along; take along a variety of baits when you go flounder fishing. For a normal day on the water, I would take along a dozen sandworms, a package of clams and a bag of mussels. The mussels can be cracked and tossed over the side for a natural chum line and used on the hook along with the other baits.

Chumming has become an integral part of flounder fishing. Chumming is the method in which a controlled release of scent and bait into the water attracts and teases the targeted species appetite, increasing their desire to feed.

The most popular chum is either clam or mussel chum and a combination chum of both will also work. Most chum purchased has been ground without the shells, packaged into quart or half gallon containers and then frozen. Some sharpies throw a can of corn in. It is then placed in a metal chum pot. The steel mesh cage is lowered over the side while the chum is still frozen to slowly thaw, releasing the scent and bits of bait into the current attracting flounder.

Flounder, like every other animal or fish on the planet, has its own comfort zone. Knowing what it is can help you in your quest. Most flounder will become active once water temperatures pass 42 degrees or so. As the temperatures rise, so does their activity and feeding response. On bright sunny days, look to fish the mud flats on high tides, particularly where the mud is dark.

Dark mud holds more heat longer and more importantly, flounder looking to catch some “rays.” As the tide drops, slowly move off the flats with the tide and the moving flounder. Remember, spring flounder fishing on flats can take place in very shallow water.

I’ve caught flounder in as little as two or three-foot of water. Once the tide has completely dropped out, fish the normal holes where the temperature is more their liking. Following some of these tips should and will improve your spring flounder score.

The minimum size limit for winter flounder is 12 inches. For winter flounder the open season is March 23 to May 21. The possession limit is 10 fish per angler per day.

For those looking for some professional guidance in search of winter flounder, Capt. Tom Buban and The Atlantic Star and Capt. Hagaman of the Sea Tiger II, both out of Atlantic Highlands, will begin 1/2-day flounder trips starting Monday 3/30. Capt. Sal Cursi of the Cathy Sea will begin sailing out of Seawaren on April 1.Out of Point Pleasant Beach, Capt. Bill Burdge of the Bar Vic will sail for half-day trips on Monday at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. and then daily starting Saturday, March 28. Keyport’s Captain John Starts April 4th.

CALL TO ACTION-

As you can see from the notice, the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic stock of winter flounder, which encompasses all winter flounder located between southern Massachusetts and Delaware, is badly overfished, with the population at only 9% of what is required to produce maximum sustainable yield. Harvest is fully 250% of the overfishing threshold, For far too many years, the health of this stock has been studiously ignored, and regulations favoring fishermen, rather than fish, adopted. NMFS has finally acted, proposing an interim rule that would close the SNEMA stock of winter flounder and give it a chance to rebuild. Predictably, the commercial fishing industry-dominated New England Fishery Management Council opposes it, and we can expect opposition from the usual advocates of overexploitation within the recreational industry as well.

As you know, winter flounder are a species of special interest to me. For generations, they were the fish used to introduce our children to the sport of angling, and provided the sort of fishing we could share with elder family members who could no longer endure the rigors of pursuing larger quarry. Now, they are all but gone. That is a tragedy, and the management response to the winter flounder's plight has, until now, been nothing less than pathetic.

I ask you to read the below notice, and click on the links to get you to the comment page--you'll have to click through three pages, but eventually you'll get to the National Marine Fisheries Service comment page. Express your support for the interim rule. If you don't know what to write, CCA has supplied suggested language on the next page that you'll come to, which provides more detail on the situation. If youd don't like the CCA language, "I support the proposed interim rule with respect to winter flounder" will suffice.

Please act quickly, and please pass this around to as many of your friends, fishing companions and conservation advocates as you can. The comment period ends Tuesday, and the flounder need your help.

Time is Running Out on Winter Flounder

Fisheries managers are just now beginning to realize what recreational anglers in the Northeast have known for a long time - there are huge problems with winter flounder stocks.

The Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic stock is at just 9 percent of where it should be and yet overfishing is still occurring at a rate 2.5 times the level that would produce maximum sustainable yield. The Gulf of Maine stock is believed to be overfished and is still subjected to overfishing.

How has this popular species been allowed to fall into such a dire condition? It is really quite simple - in the history of winter flounder management, overfishing has never been brought under control. Not once.

In the face of a total stock collapse, the National Marine Fisheries Service has finally proposed an interim rule to address the situation. Coastal Conservation Association needs your help to notify the National Marine Fisheries Service that you support the provisions of the proposed rule to correct years of management neglect for winter flounder.

Click the link below to view complete alert:

http://www.votervoice.net/groups/COASTAL/advocacy/?IssueID=16374&AdminPreview=True&SiteID=-1