Introduction to Fluke Fishing

You will find very few east coast fishermen who do not take pleasure in fishing for fluke.  Flounder, a breed of flat fish also known as “fluke” with a personality never to be forgotten, are a first-class catch for fishermen. Proficient at hiding, they are so speedy and crafty that they are quite often mistaken for shadows.  These delicious white fish are not tasty but also incredible fighters, giving rise to an extraordinary fishing experience.

You can find flounder near the shoreline around the month of May in the northeastern part of the United States.  In most cases, the warmer the water is, the better the chance that they will be around, probably cruising for their favorite foods, like sand eels, squid, and other baitfish.  You can usually catch fluke in shallow beach waters, bays, and the mouths of tidal rivers.  When summer reaches its peak, you can catch flounder around 30 to 120 feet from the shoreline, as they enjoy water that is comfortably warm but where food is effortlessly obtainable.  In cool weather, you can find them somewhat closer to the shoreline.  During the later fall months you can easily find them making their yearly trip to the warmer Atlantic coastal waters, since fluke do not like the northeast’s unforgiving winters.

As with many fishermen, you likely have your own unique approach to fishing for fluke, mainly depending on the depth of the water.  When you are fishing during the earliest and latest parts of the season, fishing in the shallows is preferable, at a depth of around 20 feet or less.  Most fishermen choose to use a standard tackle or a spinning rod.  Rig your jigs with squid, and the best selections of squid are generally in the 1-4 oz range.  Cast your rigs directly downwards from the boat, which ought to be drifting at this point.  Make sure that your jig is weighted enough to sink into contact with the waterbed where the fluke will feed.  Properly weighted, your jig will sink to the bottom to ensure a memorable fishing expedition.

Working your jig is critical – you can do this by raising and lowering it as your boat is drifting.  Your best bet is to raise it between one and two feet from the bottom of the waterbed by lifting just the tip of the rod about two feet.  The simply lower the jig slowly to attract the most attention.

If that method is not working, you can always use the snap method, which is effective when dealing with a school of lazy fish since it catches their attention.  The snap method is very straightforward, you simply allow the line to hit the bottom of the waterbed and then snap it back.  Allow the line to go slack, and it will most certainly catch the attention of even the laziest fluke.

Once you have caught your first fluke you’ll want to see if you can pinpoint your location. Depending on what equipment you have you will find great success in this.  You can do this by triangulating and of course the best method is a GPS system.  The GPS systems are literally indispensable when you’re trying to lock in on a school of fluke.

Once the season starts to heat up, fluke will start wandering away from the shore line.  In this instance, you’ll want to switch over to target fishing.  This will require spinner rigs which are fun to design or you can but them in any good bait and tackle shop.  Most people find that they would rather experiment with a number of different pre-made spinners until they find their preference. Once they find what they prefer, most fishermen want to make their own spinner rigs.

By no means complicated, spinner rigs are made of three eyes in most cases. These eyes include the first—and chief—eye, which connects to the main line, a second eye two attached to a sinker, and a third eye connected by a leader.  If you prefer to create a higher quality spinner, beads and a spinner blade are situated over the hook.  Your favorite bait and sinkers help ensure that the line will drift in relation to the waterbed and develop a visual queue as the boat drifts by revolving the spinner blade in front of the hook.  It should also generate a vibration that will catch the attention of the fluke. 

On trips that you are trying to catch a larger number of fluke, it’s smart to utilize a mixture of techniques.  Deeper water rigs can be helpful as the fluke migrate to the cooler waters later in the season.  These rigs can allow you to catch fluke easily and quickly.  Following these brief and easy tips can assure that you will at least know how to catch those tasty fluke.

When Fluke fishing it is important the use proper equipment, some supplies to consider arePenn Fishing Reel andShimano Reel.