Flounder
Flounder are a very strange and almost comical looking fish, that is very flat with eyes that are really on only one side of it's head. But don't let this strange appearance fool you, these fish taste delicious when fried or prepared in any favorite way when cooked. I remember years back when my Dad went to the local grocery store, he had bought a pack of fish filets to fry.
I tried some of the fish when it was done and it was absolutely delicious, the meat was nice and white and it even had a slightly sweet and very mild taste, I asked Dad, what type of fish it was, and he said; Flounder. The Flounder filets I had eaten were delicious, and these were processed, packaged and sold in a local grocery store, and they were probably caught many days before, so imagine how much better freshly caught Flounder must be.
Most adult Flounder are brownish, to brown-grey in color, but due to such things as the algae count in the water, the fish's main food source and other such conditions, their colors may range to shades of olive or even brownish-green and other such colors. Flounder tend to stay on the bottom of the water they live in, most of the time.
They like to bury themselves in the mud and sediment on the bottom, and can become almost invisible to other fish and predators, the only things that are visible at times, are their eyes. When hid in the mud and sediment, Flounder wait and easily ambush their prey, when it approaches.
Flounder will hide and stay on the muddy bottom of the water they live in, in almost any area, but they seem to prefer to bury themselves near underwater debris or structures, such as; bridge pilings, reef structures, old shipwrecks and even rocks.
When fishing for Flounder with bait, or lures, one important thing to note is they eat slowly, they may bite or take you bait or lure fast when they attack it, but they tend to hold it near their open mouth for awhile, before they move it around then finally eat or swallow it.
Many Flounder that have taken an anglers bait, have been lost, because the fisherman jerked the bait too soon, and pulled it right out of the flounders mouth. When Flounder's bury themselves in mud and sediment, they wait for the food to come to them unless they are extremely hungry, so when fishing for them, using a bait or lure, you must cast and move the bait near them before they will bite it.
Some of the favorite baits anglers use when fishing for Flounder, are small bait fish that are found in the same areas as the flounders live, clams and even shrimp. You can fish the baits live, or dead, and cut into small pieces, but you must cast near a flounder, or cast and slowly drag, or reel your bait across the bottom. You may wish to use a weedless hook, to help prevent it from becoming snagged on debris.
When fishing for Flounder with lures, they seem to like lures that simulate small bait fish the best, rubber minnows, chubs, or any other small artificial bait fish lures may work well, just remember to use the same method used when fishing for them with bait, you must get the lure near them before they will take it.
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