“I just retired to Ocean City, bought a condo in North Ocean City and a
brand new boat and I want to catch some flounder!”

Many new anglers bought boats this year and have never flounder fished
before. They ask “where should I go” and “what should I use?” This year, in
2004 we have an open season with a 16-inch size limit and a three fish creel
limit. The chances of catching “keeper” flounder are much greater than last
year, and anglers are anxious to get out there and catch some fish!

If you have never boated in the bay around Ocean City before, the first
thing you want to buy is a chart of the bay. The ADC Recreational Map of
Ocean City for $3.50 will show you the basic channels and depths of the bay.
The areas with little teeny dots on it are sand bars and underwater shoals.
You want to stay away from these! Follow the channels and keep a sharp
lookout for the buoys that mark the channels and you will be fine. Hint:
Take your first couple trips out at high tide.

“There’s not many buoys in the area North of the Route 90 Bridge!”

Once you get out of your canal where you are keeping your boat, heads
towards the middle of the bay and go straight towards the middle of the east
span of the Route 90 Bridge. You will see wooden pilings and a green light
on the bridge marking the main channel. That’s where you want to head!

This main channel, close to the Route 90 Bridge is the first place you can
try flounder fishing. Sometimes it’s good, and sometimes not. It is always
worth trying for 20 minutes or so before heading south. Drift either on the
north or the south side of the bridge close to the main channel. The North
side is probably the most popular. Anglers drift between the buoy just north
of the main channel and the wooden pilings. It’s not very deep here, eight
feet at best, but some nice flounder are caught in this area.

Once you pass under the Route 90 Bridge heading south, you have two main
channels to choose from. If you go towards the southwest, you will see a
green buoy in the distance. Head towards that buoy (#15) and follow the
green buoys south until you come to the famous “Thorofare” just offshore of
Captain’s Hill (a development with houses right on the water.)

If you pass under the Route 90 Bridge and go towards the southeast, you will
see a green buoy (#13) in the distance. Head straight towards it and then
follow the buoys south until you come to a group of townhouses jutting out
into the bay at 33rd Street. This is the famous “Convention Hall channel.”

Either of these two areas are great for flounder fishing in the spring. The
trick to flounder fishing is to drift through areas of different bottom
changes. If you are fishing the buoys heading towards the Thorofare, you
want to drift from the marshes towards the buoys, or from the buoys to the
marshes, depending upon which way the wind is blowing. If you are fishing
the Convention Hall channel area, you want to drift from the bulkheads
towards the buoys or from the buoys towards the bulkheads. Again, your drift
will depend upon which way the wind is blowing.

“What about the tide?”

Tide and water clarity is very important when flounder fishing. The summer
time rule of thumb is to fish three hours before high tide and two hours
after high tide. In the spring and fall, fish two hours either side of low
tide as well.

What happens is this: As the tide comes in, the water gets cleaner and
clearer. When the tide gets close to high tide, the current will slow down
and sometimes the “bite” will begin. Work your drifts and keep going back
over the same area if you catch a fish or two. Remember, this good fishing
won’t last forever, so fish hard when the “bite” is on! When the tide goes
completely still, the fishing may slow up or even stop. When this happens
you may want to slowly troll, or cast and retrieve, so your bait stays on
the “move.”

When the tide starts to go out you may need to adjust your drift. This
short window of time when the tide just starts out can be excellent fishing.
It usually lasts until the water starts running hard and the water clarity
goes “downhill.” It’s interesting. You will see 30 boats in an area and
then after the tide turns and the water gets dirty, only 3 or 4 remain. Many
of these anglers are regular fishermen and they know when the fish will
bite!

“What kind of bait should I use?”

In the spring and early summer, most anglers use one of either two kinds of
bait. The first bait is a live minnow hooked through the lips with a strip
of squid beside it on the same hook. The second bait is a frozen shiner,
hooked through the eyes with a strip of squid beside it on the same hook.

“Do you always put them on together?”

Yes, most of the time you do. However, if the crabs get bothersome, you can
skip the squid and simply fish with a live minnow or a frozen shiner. You
only want one minnow on a hook, but if you are using frozen shiners, you can
hook two or more of them through the eyes on the same hook. (Bigger bait,
bigger fish!) Or so they say….

“What kind of rig should I use?”

If you are a first time angler, buy rigs that are already made-up and ready
to fish. You can use a basic top and bottom rig with two snelled hooks
attached, preferably a wide gap hook in the size #1 or #1/0 range. You can
use plain leadered hooks or hooks with some “jewelry” on them such as
chartreuse or nickel spinner blades and beads.

Single long-leadered rigs, sometimes called “fluke killers” are great for
flounder. They are made out of a 30-inch leadered wide gap hook with beads,
a bucktailed skirt on a sleeve, and a spinner blade. The hook is attached
to a 3-way swivel with a sinker snap for your sinker.

There are all kinds of flounder rigs on the market with multi-colored
skirts, plastic squids, and beads. Try different ones and see which one you
like. There are also two-hooked flounder rigs made by Aqua-Clear which are
very popular and promise not to tangle.

“What about weights?”

Carry an array of sinkers from 1 to 4 ounces with you. Most of the time, you
will be using the one to two ounce weights, but it’s always good to have the
heavier ones if you decide to fish in the main channels close to the Route
50 Bridge where the tide can fly! The best type of sinker to buy is the
bass cast (or bell sinkers some people call them). They are tear-dropped
shaped and have a barrel swivel molded into them. They are great for
drifting and the swivel helps eliminate line twist.

“What kind of basic rod and reel should I buy?”

A medium to medium-heavy weight rod in the 6 to 7 foot range is the best.
You don’t need anything extremely heavy, but you want a sensitive rod with
backbone so you can set the hook on the flounder. If a rod is rated, an 8
to 15 pound or a 10 to 17 pound test rod is fine. The more graphite the
better! Buy a reel that matches the rod and spool it with 10 to 15 pound
test line. If you’re not an experienced fisherman, stick to a spinning type
rod and reel. If you are experienced and like bait-casting equipment, the
bait-casting set-up works very well for flounder. If you were a fresh water
fisherman, any rod and reel that would work for big mouth bass would work
for flounder.

Drifting the back bays for flounder is lots of fun, and hopefully, you’ll
catch some dinner to boot!

Good fishing…