Flounder frenzy

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

I returned to my flounder hole last Friday to see if they were still holding in that area and, yes, they were.

This time I had a disadvantage, though. I forgot to put my bucket of Berkley Gulp shrimp on the boat that morning; so instead, I tried a black bucktail jig. The jig has worked for me in the past, but on this day, it yielded no results.

I had some other imitation-scented shrimp on board so I put one on the jig. On my first cast, I landed a nice fat 15-inch flounder. That was the only fish I landed with that bait. I lost a couple of big fish because the bait was about an inch longer than the 3-inch Berkley Gulps I’m used to using. It seemed that the fish would just take the tail and hold on to it then release it when you got the fish near the surface. This theory was evident by the bite marks that were left just behind the hook on the much softer, longer bait. You can bet that I won’t leave home again without my Berkley Gulps.

For those of you who would rather fish live bait for flounder, you have several options. Free-lining a live shrimp with a piece of split shot to get it near the bottom will work, as will shrimp fished on a jig head. Live mullet or mud minnows are also great baits, and don’t rule out a piece of fresh-cut ladyfish.

Speaking of fresh-cut ladyfish, it also works great for redfish and trout. Don’t be surprised if a big tarpon eats it and takes off with it, too.

A friend of mine, Bill, has been tearing up the redfish on fresh-cut ladyfish. He has also landed a few trout larger than 25 inches on the cut bait. Whenever Bill sees my truck at the boat ramp, I can always expect a call asking me to keep any ladyfish I catch to give to him.

For those of you who like to chase tarpon, I’ve been getting reports that they are up in Matanzas Inlet and are big. You can probably expect to find them in that area for the rest of the summer.

I’ve been also getting reports of big flounder coming off the offshore wrecks and reefs. There is also some Mahi Mahi in the 20-pound range coming from these locations. There are also large red snapper, but they must be released.

No matter what your fishing preference is, now is the time to get out and wet a line. Be safe out there this July 4 weekend.