Flounder Bite Season to Open Soon
Flounder bite season to open soon has been good to excellent with the recreational season to open September 1 – 14th. The recreational size limit will be 15″ total length and 4 fish per person creel limit. Call Capt. Mike Dennis the Cape Fear Guide out of Carolina Beach for your Cape Fear River Backwater Charter. 910-619-0928
This past week I fished a total of 5 days with the flounder being caught every day some were small not keepers and had a couple of days with 1 fish over 10 lbs. and 8 lbs. One morning when the tide was at the 4′.2 stage the flounders were biting for 20 minutes as fast as we could catch them and release them. This particular morning we were fishing in front of an oyster bar, with the current pushing over a sandbar flowing into a slough ideal conditions. Buzzard Bay does offer the angler numerous places to fish for flounder.
On my charters, we fish with the Carolina rig with a 1/0 or 2/0 Eagle Claw Bronze Kahle hook, this rig will normally hook the fish most times if the angler will keep the fishing rod pointed up. The biggest mistake I see most anglers do is to hold the fishing rod off to the side and try to set the hook, a big mistake with circle hooks. On most of my charters, I try to help the anglers improve their saltwater inshore fishing skills. Being on the water so much has allowed me to observe many strikes, how an angler holds the rod is really important, a tight hold on the rod helps set the hook on a strike.
No matter how old an angler is, this includes me fishing is a constant learning curve, whether it is anchoring the boat, changing the type of anchor he is using. One of my newest additions to my Pathfinder Boat is the use of a Power-Pole great for shallow water anchoring. For the past 14 years, have been using a Danforth 8lb. anchor with a pretty heavy 7′ chain this anchor set-up worked in the sand and muddy bottoms until the wind got above 20mph. plus, it would then begin to slip. One fault that I found with the Danforth anchor was you had to shake the black muddy sand off of it when bringing it in the boat. I started doing some research on anchors and discovered the Bruce-type anchor, which resembles a claw, watched several anchor tests on YouTube. Decided I would try one out went to West Marine and purchased a Lewmar 8lb. claw anchor looks a little strange, it has a shorter shank that is somewhat smaller but more compact. I went down in chain size and shortened the link of the chain to 3′ which made it a lot easier to pull up and bring in the boat, after two fishing charters this anchor grabs quicker in the bottom I am fishing in, it is also is a whole lot easier to work with and store. A fisherman is never too old to learn but should try to keep things simple and cost-effective in order to be able to enjoy the time spent on the water.
Big Flounder
The above photo shows a size 13 shoe alongside big flounder.
Flounder bite season to open soon September 1 – September 14, 2021 call 910-619-0928 to set up your Cape Fear River Backwater charter.
My YOUTUBE video channel link https://youtube.com/user/CBCapt
Capt.Mike Dennis Cape Fear Guide 910-619-0928
Capt.Mike@charter.net