Winter Flounder Tips

Well my friends, every time I think that I may have figured out something new about flounder a new key to the puzzle is introduced! People get very frustrated when fishing for flatfish and it is understandable. Just because you are not able to get one to bite, does not mean they aren’t there! More time than not, I notice that as I fish and fan cast a certain area for a bit, then start lifting my lure out at the same place they will start to lay in that area since they are following the bait. Usually, after an hour if I don’t start catching them right in front of me, I know that either they are not hungry, or have moved areas and will make my way to a different place.

This last week has been pretty productive if you can hit the jetties and any waters leading up to them, but if you go on the wrong tide you probably will end up with nothing. Some of the folks I have run into lately have been swearing up and down on mud minnows (bull minnow) rigged with a snell hook through their nose or the tail, depending on which way the tide is running. One gentleman had 3 flounder and had been fishing for a couple of hours, but the water direction had switched when the bite turned back on. Most of the time, I prefer to use a lure and maybe catch just one, because to me, I personally like the challenge a bit more. I had to switch up colors a few times to find the one that would trigger some bites. The winner was the purple whipping chicken on a red Texas Rattler jig head with the diamond eye style due to the reflection it puts off in the water.

In the next month or so, we should be able to start seeing the numbers of fish on the increase, as they start coming back in from offshore after the spawn. All of the fish I am seeing at this point are 18 inches and under, and a whole lot of them are males. I went out with my good buddy on his boat to look for a few, but as soon as we got out there the fog started to roll in which only gave us an hour or two at most of gigging. We ended up with 9 flounder, 2 drum and a sheepshead. This weather should clear up soon and allow us to get back out more often. If you want to plan a gigging, bay fishing, or offshore trip just go to our website at www.Trinityoutfitterstx.com and leave us a message. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask at any time. Until next time, tight lines and sharp gigs. Also, if you need flounder gigging lights, shoot me a message.

Capt. Brian “Flounder Professor” Spencer

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