Fishing for Winter Flounder
During the long, cold winter, many fishermen become bored and restless waiting for prime fishing weather. If you are lucky enough to live in or near New England, you know that you have a host of opportunities almost literally right outside your door, and ice fishing can become a great way to break up the monotony. Striped bass can be caught in early March, and fluke (or winter flounder) are available as soon as April. These fish are more abundant this time of year due to their spawning habits.
Modern restrictions have newly been placed on winter flounder owing in large part to over-harvesting and incompatible reproduction habitats. These restrictions have shortened winter flounder season to just 6 or 8 weeks, but this still offers plenty of time for a great winter fluke season.
Unlike summer flounder, you can easily fish for winter flounder with relatively light line (8-12 lbs) and a rod as small as six or seven feet will be adequate. Remember, these fish only range from 2-3 lbs each. Crafting a rig for winter flounder can be as simple or as complicated as you care to make it. Regardless, you’ll have great success provided you use the smaller hooks that are an essential component of successfully fishing for winter flounder. Small hooks and weights (to keep bait at the bottom) help accommodate both the habitat where you’ll find winter flounder and their small, nearly toothless mouths.
Creating a winter flounder rig does not have to be hard, but this depends on your own unique tastes. In any case, it is nearly impossible to fail provided that you take advantage of smaller hooks, which are a very important part of fishing for winter flounder. These small hooks and weights are necessary to deposit bait at the bottom and are flexible for reaching both the winter flounder’s habitat and their small and practically toothless mouths. The next step is for you to intermix yellow grubs or beads (attached to the shaft) with bait for winter flounder, and winter flounder rigs are easily recognizable by their bright yellow bait. No matter whether you decide to fish with mussel, sandworms or bloodworms, bright yellow rigs attract winter flounder with tremendous success.
Chumming is another successful means of fishing for fluke, whether you opt to fish while anchored in a boat or from the shoreline, and this method attracts large schools of winter flounder. To have all the equipment you need to take full advantage of your winter flounder fishing event, just pick up your chum pots at a local bait and tackle shop. You need simply attach the pots to a nonflexible object near the shoreline or secure them to the boat.
If you prefer to fish with dual rods, one can be cast in the same direction as the current, while another can be set alongside the chum pot. This is a very resourceful way for you to maximize your fishing expedition and the equipment itself, a plus for any fisherman on any trip.
Winter flounder have a habit of gathering together in areas where they can find food in abundance, so it is likely that you will catch a bunch of them in somewhat shallow water. As a rule of thumb, the more shallow the water, the warmer it will be, and therefore the more abundant the fluke’s food source. Consequently, you can usually find a school of winter flounder near an area of sand and gravel that easily becomes to mud on a regular basis.
Winter flounder season is a fantastic way to get back into fishing after a long and bitter cold season, especially for saltwater fishermen. These subtly flavored fish are also an excellent way to help restock your freezer between the winter and summer fishing seasons.
There are many helpful types of gear that you should consider investing in some of them are Daiwa Fishing Pole and Shimano Calcutta Fishing Reels, such as the Shimano Calcutta 400B.