How to Catch Flounder from a Pier or Dock

saltwater fishing tips

Flounder are just about our favorite fish to catch, and they’re also on our “top two list” of fish to eat. Our flounder fishing has been done in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and in Florida, on both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. With that in mind, I can’t guarantee that these saltwater fishing tips for flounder will work in your area. I think they will, though!

From my years of experience as a saltwater angler, a fishing pier, dock, or bridge is the best place to catch flounder. The flatfish are naturally drawn to these types of structure, largely because baitfish often congregate around the protection of the pilings. The flounder go where their dinner can be found. This isn’t to say that flounder can’t be landed in other venues – they can. We’ve had a lot more success with flounder fishing, however, from piers and bridges.

Flounder can be caught around structure at just about any depth. We’ve caught some nice flounder in just a few inches of water, and we’ve also caught them in deeper water. While you might occasionally hook a flounder near low tide, you’ll almost always have the best luck just before and just after high tide.

Once you’ve decided on a bait, you’ll need to make sure it stays on or near the bottom, where the flounder feed. Flounder are mainly ambush predators. They’ll often bury themselves in the sand on the bottom and wait for an opportunity to attack. A typical cast-and-retrieve method that works for some other fish species won’t usually be very successful for flounder fishing. Instead, you want to drag or bump the bait along the bottom, with a slow retrieve.

When you’re on the pier or bridge, carefully cast your line under the structure. Slowly bump it along the bottom, making sure to include the area right around the pilings. When you need a break, cast your bait under the pier and let it sit in one spot for a while. I’ve probably caught more flounder using this lazy method than I have using any other technique!

Once you’ve hooked a flounder, be careful not to let it wrap your line around a piling. You’ll probably need a pier net to lower into the water to retrieve your fish. If you’re not going to eat the fish, return it to the water as quickly as you can. If you are going to cook and eat the fish, you’ll need some great fish recipes!

An easy and delicious way to cook flounder fillets is to simply season them with salt and pepper, dredge the moist fillets in flour, and fry in hot peanut oil until golden brown. The fish won’t be weighed down with lots of batter, so the wonderful, sweet taste of the flounder will shine through.

Popularity: 4%