Rec and Sports

Shorter Days and Cooling Temperatures Move Flounder

With the days growing shorter and the mercury gradually dropping, flounder are on the move. With the approach of autumn, southern flounder begin to make their way out of the shallows, with crowds of these fish making their way through every available route to the deeper waters of the gulf. Yes, the flounder spawning season is upon us once again according to the latest fishing reports. Anglers who enjoy fishing for the saddle blanket flounder are already enjoying an action packed Texas fishing season this fall.

Captain Skip James counts himself one of these flounder fanatics. A longtime guide, Captain James prefers Sabine Lake for his angling. For many years, he’s been following the movements of these fish and using telemetry to study the patterns of the fall flounder run. He tends to base his patterns on the movements of the larger females, since as he knows, there are always plenty of males right behind her, eagerly anticipating the drop of the female’s eggs.

As a long time flounder expert, Captain James is as good as any fishing reports we’ve seen as far as Texas fishing for flounder is concerned, so it carries serious weight when he tells us “The flounder run’s actually at about the halfway point right now and will peak very soon. It typically starts in mid September and ends in mid December.” While the flounder make their way to the gulf’s deep waters, things are pretty easy for the experienced angler. “I just use a 4″ bayside speck grub – it’s all I need and we’ve been landing flounder up to 6 pounds. If the rest of the run is this good, it’ll go down as one of the best years I’ve ever seen,” says James.

Galveston native, Phil Ortiz states that the cold snap that everyone is waiting for is not the only time to pursue flounder. “Flounder know it is time to start migrating when the days become shorter,” he says. “We are catching plenty of flounder now but the first solid shot of cold we get will have them moving in mass.”

Phil Ortiz prefers to use artificial for the pancake predators. “Over the years, I got tired of flounder short striking them.” This ignited Ortiz’s designing of a lure called the “Flounder Pounder”.

Jeff Boudreaux is another angler from Galveston that fishes for flounder year-round. He especially takes interest in pursuing flatfish during the run. “I fish for them with pitching methods that are often used on stick beds for bass,” states Boudreaux. “I set the hook as fast as I can when I feel the initial thump.”

Boudreaux also chooses soft plastics for flounder, reporting particularly good results with the Brown’s Corky Devil. This suspended bait helped him land a 7 lb flounder just last week and confirmed this as his lure of choice.

“Those looking to catch flounder during the fall run should look at the Galveston Channel or Sea Wolf Park Flat,” states Boudreaux. “Live baiters do very well using mud minnows and finger mullet on a Carolina rig.”

Lower coast angler, Cody Stripling exclusively targets flounder on the waters of the Lower Laguna Madre. Launching from Port Mansfield, Stripling works grassy structure and areas adjacent to deep water within his boat using a trolling motor.

Like other Texas fishing enthusiasts in the area, he tells us that things are slow in the Lower Laguna Madre right now, but he expects that things will take off quickly once the weather turns a little cooler.

“During the flounder run, I go for drop offs near deeper waters and grassy points. We’ve got very clear water here along the Lower Laguna Madre, so we can get a good look at those deep water adjacent areas where the flounder tend to hang out. All you need to do is pitch baits along the edge and you’ll be able to land all the flounder you could want,” says Stripling.

“Soft plastics on 1/4 ounce lead heads work great for flounder,” he recalls. “I work them with a bass retrieve by bumping it on the bottom and letting it sit for two or three seconds before jerking it again.