Floundering around

deefly · 06-08-2003, 06:51 AM

Just wondering if anyone has been chasing these strange fish? Is it time yet? Anyone ever tried lures near the bottom for them? Years ago we used to bounce a red bit of yarn accross the bottom on the retieve and "slam!" I sure would like to do a little more research on these guys. Oh yes, and cleaning them always seemed like a real pain!

MarlinMark · 06-08-2003, 10:34 PM

My flyfishing, drift boating, salmon and steelhead mentor did a bit of this a long time ago. He was a seasonal worker on the Elk river in So. Or one summer. He lived in a little camper down by the estuary. He would fish every evening for his dinner. He told me that casting and retrieving flies in the bay/esturary close to the sand plug would produce flounder. They would get into the estuary on big tides and be stuck in the river. Good eating for a starving college kid in the 60's. I can get more details if you like.

Mark

Jacob · 06-08-2003, 11:28 PM

The only ones I've caught have been by accident. I wouldn't mind learning more about these fish either.

Gary Wolfer · 06-26-2003, 04:15 AM

flounder fishery has been all but killed out by saving the seals. When I was a young boy we went to Yaquina bay just to catch them. now it is very rare to ever see one if you do they are about 6" long.

PittsburghD · 06-26-2003, 03:15 PM

As a kid I used to catch 'em with a sandshrimp in the bay in Gearhardt. Low tide the bay turned into a kind of river and we would set up a pole in the river. Never tried to fly fish for them but this would be a good spot if they were there.

---D

Slugranch · 06-29-2003, 05:11 AM

As thick as they are in the CR this year, according to the fisheries people that I have talked to,,,,they have made a comeback,,,,apparently they are like a lot of other species and come and go with the conditions in the bays and rivers. I've seriously considered just "sand dab" fishing if someone has a tried and true method. We used to fish the estuary with plain old nightcrawlers and my kids had a ball. As I recall, we used a "paternoster" rig to fish for them

KingFisher85 · 06-29-2003, 11:45 PM

I know up north I would just mess around off the docks but just any weighted fly kinda jigging it in would produce flounder.
Quick skinking line, 5-6 foot leaders, once it hit bottom just quick strips, let it hit and then just repeat.

[ 06-30-2003, 12:47 AM: Message edited by: KingFisher85 ]

Gary Wolfer · 07-13-2003, 03:41 PM

Unbelievable

I was shocked when My wife a couple of days ago caught two stary flounder in Yaquina bay after I posted my last post. Flounder like sand flats and nightcrawlers still work. these fish were both about 18" long you don't gut these fish you filet them above and below and behind the guts. cut them down the sides along the spine and behind the head and feel the sides where the guts end and cut across there and filet meat behind them. GOOOOOD eating.