# flounder



## sandcasting (Jan 25, 2003)

does anyone have suggestions for catching flounder? in the north we used to catch them drifting channels and near creek mouths with small minnows. with all the flats on the inshore here i'm not really sure where to look for the flatties. sand bottom, in the grass, near pilings and docks, or around the passes, maybe from the surf? any and all help will be appreciated and put to use. finally getting back around the salt this coming weekend, can't wait.


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## FL FISHERMAN (Sep 30, 2002)

Sebastian Inlet is a good place to get them. They are mostly caught from or near the jetties. They run really good in the month of Nov and Dec. I have seen flounder caught up to 10lbs there. Now I have heard of them getting as big as 20 lbs and caught there! Now that is a door mat! I would say the same techniques would apply there also but with larger bait for the big ones. Good luck, I am sure Koz will be able to give you more detailed information. Tight Lines!


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## Kozlow (Oct 25, 2002)

Hey sandcasting how are ya?

Like FL F said Sebastian Inlet is a good place to get them and Nov and Dec are the best times to start looking for them. Some other things that you might want to do are:

Look for Bait Fish: The presence of baitfish is important And not just mullet.... Anywhere you see small forage species, specifically menhaden, is a good potential flounder fishing hole. Remember that fall flounder tend to congregate in numbers and that they don't move about near as much as reds and trout.....so..... always try to "pattern cast." Once you catch a fish, work that area throughly, casting just a little to the left or right of your last cast until you have covered the entire area....

Best Bait/Lures: The flounder "strike zone" is where the fish are, near the bottom. Work lures slowly and meticulously. Top offerings include soft plastics - shrimptails and shadtails, along with specialty lures like the split-tailed "Flounder Pounder" and "Flex Jig" - as well as quarter-ounce spoons. A single-hooked Johnson Sprite can also be a real killer. Natural Baits: If you're partial to natural baits, don't ignore the mud minnow, properly referred to as the "Gulf killifish." Mud minnows, unlike live shrimp, are not likely to attract trash fish like hardhead catfish and small croakers.

With the mullet bait, I will work an area where the water is moving on an outgoing tide. I look for the areas around structure that provide a break to the water movement – areas that create an eddy. This is where the flounder will lay and wait for an ambush. They often will strike out at moving baitfish into the current and move back to their relative safety.

Any cut or inlet up and down the US East Coast that goes to the ocean from a bay or estuary will have similar situations, and these tactics, or slight variations of them, can be used to catch these elusive doormats.They can be caught inshore on sandy or mud bottoms, often ranging into tidal creeks; occasionally caught on near-shore rocky reefs. Winter months are best for the bigger fish. Look for these fish around structure Docks , Pilings , Jetties , Piers and in the Surf .

How to fish the Inlet
http://www.floridatoday.com/sections/recreation/sebastian.htm

Temperature Range For Saltwater Fish Species
http://home.cfl.rr.com/floridafishing/temp.htm

Hope it helps

Where is Jake Ace the King of the Flounder Pounders








http://www.pierandsurf.com/onthewater/topangler/2003february.shtml


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## sandcasting (Jan 25, 2003)

thanks to both of you for the suggestions. however, sebastian is the other side tof the state for me, i'm in south tampa. what is the bottom of the inlet there like? over here, i've only fished john's pass, but it is full of rocks. and probably thousands of dollars in lost tackle. when i was there, only a few times, i was chasing the elusive snook. saw a few monsters, but they weren't eating. i gave them the full buffet too. someone is always snagged there. i'll be on the water this weekend and let you know of the results. jake ace is no doubt the authority, i think i saw he had a part in tagging over 900 flatties this year. no typo, 900. do they really get to be 20 pounds? i might be talked into one 20 pounder instead of 100 two pounders. wonder about jakes opinion on that. i guess who cares how big if you can get into 900 with the help of some friends.


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## Kozlow (Oct 25, 2002)

Here are some past post on the tampa bay area sandcasting.

http://www.pierandsurf.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4125&highlight=Tampa+Bay

Gotta be Flounder around.

http://www.pierandsurf.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2282&highlight=Tampa+Bay

http://www.pierandsurf.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4264&highlight=Tampa+Bay

Here is some info for Ft Meyers

http://www.pierandsurf.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4264&highlight=Tampa+Bay

Bradenton Beach area 
http://www.pierandsurf.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3357&highlight=Clear+Water

Fast Facts About Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay is the largest open-water estuary in Florida, encompassing nearly 400 square miles and bordering three counties -- Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas. The bay's sprawling watershed covers a land area nearly five times as large, at 2,200 square miles.


More than 100 tributaries flow into Tampa Bay, including dozens of meandering, brackish-water creeks and four major rivers -- the Hillsborough, Alafia, Manatee and Little Manatee.


A single quart of bay water may contain as many as 1 million phytoplankton -- microscopic, single-celled plants that are an essential thread in the "who eats who" marine food web.


More than 200 species of fish are found in Tampa Bay, including the popular snook, redfish and spotted sea trout. 


Mangrove-blanketed islands in Tampa Bay support the most diverse colonial waterbird nesting colonies in North America, annually hosting 40,000 pairs of 25 different species of birds, from the familiar white ibis and great blue heron to the regal reddish egret -- the rarest heron in the nation. 


Each square meter of bay sediment contains an average of 10,000 animals -- mostly tiny, burrowing worms, crustaceans and other mud-dwellers that are known as benthic invertebrates. The most numerous creature in the bay sediment is a primitive, fish-like invertebrate about two inches long called branchiostoma. 


On average, Tampa Bay is only 12 feet deep. Because it is so shallow, manmade shipping channels have been dredged to allow large ships safe passage to the Port of Tampa and other bay harbors. The largest of these, the main shipping channel, is 43 feet deep and 40 miles long. 


The Port of Tampa is Florida's largest port and consistently ranks among the top 10 ports nationwide in trade activity. It contributes billions annually to the region's economy.


More than 4 billion gallons of oil, fertilizer components and other hazardous materials pass through Tampa Bay each year.


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## Kozlow (Oct 25, 2002)

From another site reports on the doormats.

This time, about last year I fished the west side of the bay alot and did alright just North of Allens creek. theres a large flat north of the creek that is mostly sand/mud bottom with scattered patches grass, but I seem to catch ALOT of short Flounder there, so im guessing there some keepers. I usually fish Dunedin Sound, and they seem to be very thick up there Other than that I haven't heard much at all.


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## sandcasting (Jan 25, 2003)

kowlow you just made my afternoon. my fishing partner lives on the icw in indian rocks beach. thus we won't be very far from dunedin sound. how recent is the post you found? i'll have to consult a chart to find the creek. thank you for the local tidbit. all the help you provide for others, you have to have some of the best fishing karma. the monsters must be waiting to gobble your offerings.


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## Kozlow (Oct 25, 2002)

Well sandcasting hopfully the karma kicks in tommorow . I am headed to Sabastian Inlet . I have heard the Reds are going crazy on the outgoing tide tearing up the mullet. Come On Karma.
 Hope you do well Dunedin sound. The report was from yesterday .


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## Kozlow (Oct 25, 2002)

Here is another report
Been catching good numbers of big flounder for the past couple of weeks. Flatties from 2 pounds up to the size of a 48 quart cooler. We've been catching them in 2-15 feet of water in lower Tampa Bay, at the Bulkhead, and in the Manatee River.
Capt. Ray

The little island between weedon and pinic island.You should be able to pick some up there.Once you get there you will see the sand bars around outling the island.You will know where to fish.

The 2 little bridges by the skyway on the north side can be pretty good.


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## Jake Ace (May 4, 2000)

That's a big fat one you put a picture of in there. And the flounder was nice-sized too.

Big Mullet = Big Flounder. Up here I've got many friends who slay the 12" to 14" flounders on mud minnows (those are throwbacks up here ... 17 1/2 minimum keeper) but for the bigger ones we'd always opt to use Menhaden or Mullet if we can net them.

However, if you've seen any report from me on the VA board, you know that probably 70% of the flounder that my fishing buddies and I tag, are caught on various jigs in 4 to 6 feet of water. So I'm a big believer in all those lures that Koz listed.

THROW MORE BIG ONES BACK / PICK SOME GARBAGE UP

Jake Ace


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