This has been one of the better years weve seen for flounder fishing in quite some time. Theories abound on why we are seeing more fish and some very large fish being taken by angler. Some people attribute it to the delayed start of the commercial shrimp trawling season. They think that more fish were allowed to move inshore before the trawlers got going. Ive heard others say that the early hot weather we experienced in May of this year. Whatever the case may be, we have definitely had a good year and this fishing will continue to be good until late fall.
It does not take a rocket scientist to look at the shape of a Flounder and determine where this fish spends the majority of its time. Thats right, the Flounder spends the majority of his day lying around waiting on an easy dinner to come by. Flounder fishing in the inshore waters of the lowcontry is excellent from mid-summer through the end of fall. There are many anglers in our area passionate about Flounder fishing and while many of us consider catching one a bonus while fishing for other species, serious Flounder anglers are very methodical in their approach. While there are many different techniques and rigs, most Flounder fishermen will agree that you need to get your bait down to the bottom. This may sound pretty simple, but keep in mind some of the best Flounder fishing is found in inlets where current can often prevent a light sinker from ever reaching the bottom. For this reason the rig you use becomes the most important part of your plan of attack.
Flounder are often found in inlets and the mouths of creeks due to the abundance of food and the current bringing dinner to them. This is important to keep in mind when determining what type of rig to use. In areas of light current you may be able to drift fish and drop your bait right over the side and down to the bottom. In areas with heavy current you may need to cast upcurrent and bring your bait back down past the fish. Remember you want to give the fish every opportunity to see the bait and eat