Now that the temperatures are starting to drop and the cold fronts are starting to traverse the state many things are beginning to change.  Flounder pounding is a super fun, super productive activity you can engage in as the season changes and the fronts become more frequent.

Flounder are a species of fish whose primary line of defense from predators is it’s ability to camouflage into its surroundings.  The fish are a brownish color with darker and lighter patches on their upper side.  Their eyes are on the top of their body.  Both eyes are on top so they can lie in the sand and watch above them for lurking predators and injured prey. These fish bury the majority of their body under the sand, leaving only their eyes and their outline visible.

Every year around this time, flounder will congreate in abundance along most areas of beach.  They can be targeted with various baits, from chunks of bait, to pinfish, to pilchards, to shrimp.  Pin your bait to the bottom, and wait for a founder to detect the scent or vibration and move in for dinner. Live bait is usually better.  In addition to targeting them with a fishing pole there are certain places where you can swim with a spear gun, spear, hawaiian sling, or as we tried the other day, a plain old filet knife (don’t expect a sharp tip after).  Before you go be sure of your local nearshore fishing regulations.  There are many area where you can’t take some of these underwater tools.  Swimming with a mask and targeting them with any of the underwater tools can be exciting and challenging.  These fish make a tasty meal, with light non-oily meat.  The meat is not at all gritty and very flaky. They are difficult to filet, but can be worth the effort.

Because there are so many of these fish along the beach people will often step on them.  Flounder are so good at blending into the bottom, few predators notice them when they are buried.  Because of this they are not easily scared out from under the sand.  They are such a relaxed fish that people walking along the shoreline will step on them.  Most surfers initially mistake them for stingrays while walking out to the surf or when standing to get back on their board. But, after stepping on these fish multiple times you will realize that you did not step on a stingray, in fact, it was a flounder.

During these next couple months worth of fronts you will more than likely step on a flounder.  They are everywhere.  If you are interested in some fish tacos, deep fried, pan seared, et cetera fish grab a pole or a mask and knife, and get out to the beaches to do some flounder pounding.