Flounder

Flounder is a saltwater species that prefer relatively shallow waters, and are seldom found at depths over 100 meters. Many species of flounder may also be found in rivers, and quite far from estuaries at that, being highly tolerant to low salinity levels. The biggest flatfish species are known as Halibut; they are found in the northern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and are often targeted by fishing boat captains in such locations as British Columbia and Norway. Gulf flounder is a popular game fish in Florida and elsewhere in Mexico Bay, and so is southern flounder, which is also distributed further to the north in Western Atlantic. To keep a long story short, you may catch a flounder on almost every shore in the world.

Flounder may refer to a number of flatfish species, including Gulf flounder, southern flounder, European flounder, and Halibut. They all have an unmistakable appearance with both eyes on the same side of the body, as an adaptation to living on the bottom. The upper side of its body is camouflaged to help the fish hide on the bottom, usually in dark brown or greenish, with lighter spots all over the body. The bottom is usually white or light grey. Flounder has an unexpectedly large mouth and the fins that go over the sides of its body in an almost unintermitted circle.

Flounders are predatory fish who lie on the bottom and ambush their prey. A variety of bottom-fishing techniques, with both live baits and artificial lures, can be used for flounder fishing. For surf, shore, and pier fishing it usually implies a spinning rod, and dragging a jig head or a live bait on a long lead after a sinker, so that the bait bounces off the bottom, imitating the motion of flounder’s prey. Bottom fishing from a boat often doesn’t even involve rods, with anglers bouncing the bait off the bottom with the motion of their hands. Look for flounder where areas of flat bottom that can feed lots of flounder prey, such as grass beds, are broken by a change in relief, a channel, a structure such as a pier or bridge, or a wreck.