Flounder fishing @ night

[STX]

Has anyone tried this & it seems that they should bite @ night too???

[Flounderman2001]

Flounder are sight feeders that ambush their prey/bait.
So I would imagine it's dark as h**l down there.:yes:
What you can see you can catch.:))
Wasting your time at night.:yes:

[swhit]

fish under the lights along the bridge in shallow water:thumbup:

[tonydivefish]

flounder settle themselves in the sand @ nite & sleep. have done nite dives where the current has washed the sand off of them & if you put a bag in front & grab @ the tail they'll shoot right in the bag before they realize it was a bad idea.

[Ketchup]

A few years back, in the Fall (actually the first week of November) we were smackin the Flounder every night at the tide change at Lesner Bridge. This was 10pm, 11pm, and so on every night for about a week, up to about 6 lbs. I also have a bud who caught a 9 plus Flounder during Striper season on a bucktail @ a piling at about 11pm. No rules, just right...

[gchesh]

Of course they bite at night. I've been fishing for them for more tha 50 years, and yes, they bite at night.

[bullisland]

I would imagine it would be a little slower fishing but they should still bite. As far as them sleeping, I am not sure that I have ever heard of fish sleeping.:scratchchin3:

Shayne

[Flounderman2001]

Flounder are sight feeders that ambush their prey/bait.
So I would imagine it's dark as h**l down there.:yes:
What you can see you can catch.:))
Wasting your time at night.:yes:

From past experience whenever we have a lot of heavy rain in the area the water gets very dirty.

Fishermen who go out after Flounder during this time have a hella of a time catching some fish so I would imagine what I said before may be true.:yes:

Possibly catching one that the rig/bait hit the fish on the head as you passed over it and it struck and was caught. Lucky Catch!:clap:

[Jake Ace]

I used to fish the shoreline from the beach under the light of the HRBT from 3a to sunrise about once a week in the late-spring and summer, and the bait under those lights in 2- to 3-feet of water was all over the place.

We'd catch as many flounder as we would grey trout, specs, puppy drum on those late-nights / pre-sunrise trips. I'm sure it was the bridge lights keeping the bait lit up and around, but there were always plenty of flounder in the hauls well after dark.

THROW SOME BREEDERS BACK

Jake Ace

[Mega Bite]

I think Flounder use their lateral line like other fish do.It allows them detect(pressure waves) movement of other fish.They dont have to use sight to feed although I am sure it helps.I think it is more the fisherman dont like to fish for Flounder at nite time more than anything else.

[virginia boy 1]

Best kept secret in the bay. Shallow water with lots of light on a sandy bottom. Use small weights as possible. bare kahle hook with smaller than usual strips of cut bait. I used to fish one of the local base piers, and had a 23 fish nite last year.

[cantgetenough]

Have caught hundreds at night, just got to know where to get em. Just not a drifting thing.

Rudy Levasseur
Above Average Sportfishing

[rgminer]

Years ago we use to fill coolers with sea trout, rock and flounder off the Harry Kelly Bridge in OCMD at night using frozen shiners and Mans Stingray grubs....

[jackarow]

no, they don't bite at night. They're all fibbing. Don't waste your time.

[THATSNEAKYMURRET]

I have fished plenty of times at night for them, at the ODU reef, rudee inlet, Hampton roads bridge tunnel, Thimbel shoals light, and in deeper water at the first and second island at the CBBT and I have had plenty of luck. I have caught them sometimes as good if not better at night then I have i durring the day. Live bait will work but I prefer jigging for them at night because you can find the fish better that way.

[STX]

Thanks Guys: I'm all tied up in the daytime & was thinking of doing alittle night recon...hope to be able & report back w/ a personal opition..

[SuperSoaker]

Flounder do not feed aggresivly at night especially under light dumb ---

[tonydivefish]

let me put it this way. out @ the triangles during the day, you've got maybe 3 to 4 ft, no closer before a flounder takes off like a bat. the big ones sometimes are shot going away from 5 to 7 ft. @ nite i can pet them or stab them with a knife which ever. if they do not enter some state of sleep then they go into some state of dormancy @ nite. the diff. is like "nite & day".

[THATSNEAKYMURRET]

STX try fishing (jigging) for them at night this summer and I promise you you will not be disapointed. I have been fishing for them at night for a very long time and have limited out on multiple occasions. Under lights are the best but you can catch them without lights too. I gig flounder at night in North carolina and with a powerful light stuns them so you can gig them but the lights from the HRBT bring bait fish in and the flounder go crazy. Anyone that says they dont bite at night probably have not tried it or have had no luck when they have tried it but I promise to you they do and it can be very productive especially during a full moon.

[cleighton]

I have found that plastic jigs, like finS or bass assassins bounced off the bottom directly under pier or bridge lights will at times take flounder well. Double jig rigs work better and the top hook seems to get the most action. I discovered this about 12 years ago in Delaware fishing off the Henlopen Pier for April stripers and early greys. Even in the dead of summer this can be a deadly technique. For some reason even if flounder are present it doesn't always work, but, when it is on- it is on! Oddly I have not done well with live baits under the same lights when they were hitting artificials (go figure).

I have several children and many nights summer pier fishing I have jigged up flounder while bottom lines were out. My best was a May 2007 27 1/2" at Ocean View pier in about 5 feet of water. Almost as big as my largest boat caught flounder and they have always come as a by product of just being there and having a few moments between assisting my children.

So flounder at night: It's twoo it's twoo

Tight lines

Chuck [/SIZE]

[ketch69]

I'm no Flounder expert for sure but the two largest I have caught to date were both caught at night fishing soft plastics for Trout.

[racn35]

let me put it this way. out @ the triangles during the day, you've got maybe 3 to 4 ft, no closer before a flounder takes off like a bat. the big ones sometimes are shot going away from 5 to 7 ft. @ nite i can pet them or stab them with a knife which ever. if they do not enter some state of sleep then they go into some state of dormancy @ nite. the diff. is like "nite & day".


so basic info is this :::

IF you ever catch a flounder at night........ ITS A FLUKE

:cool2:

now spadefish at midnight on the other hand , well........ :thumbup:

[gettinbent]

I have caught many flounder at night, on a bright moon i9n shallow water, or under lights on jigs.

[Bryansfish]

Years back a guy caught one a little over 12 pounds while chunking for stripers at the MMBT one night.

[MattD]

Catch them all the time at the HRBT under the lights while jigging.

[dforehand]

QUOTE

so basic info is this :::

IF you ever catch a flounder at night........ ITS A FLUKE



Now that's some funny s*!^ right there!

[racn35]

at least someome has a sense of humor.......

they just dont get it......

FLOUNDER = DAY

FLUKE = NIGHT

[wally]

i fish lynnhaven river at night during the summer, and catch a ton of them in dock lights on live menhaden

[Capt.Neil Renouf]

I had to read all the posts, want to make sure every good spot at night is put on here, we wouldn't want to hold back any places, then the hundreds of people on here wouldn't know where to go.

[Capt Max King]

Byransfish

opening day of striper season oct 2001 9:30pm at the mmbt just to the south of the curve plyon #187 chunking the fresh menhaden from the Bait shack! Sherwood did his best to knock it off with the net but got it on the third try. 31 inches 12lb 8 oz flounder alot 30inch Plus stripers that night. 6lb eel as well. These was the days of the 19 ft aquasport alot fun back then.

thanks for bringing up some great memories!
max

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[MattD]

I had to read all the posts, want to make sure every good spot at night is put on here, we wouldn't want to hold back any places, then the hundreds of people on here wouldn't know where to go.

Really?

Im not usually one to reply to these kinds of responses, but they are really starting to get on my nerves. Just because someone posts a general location doesnt mean that the whole tidalfish fleet is gunna run out there and tear the place up. You wouldnt believe the number of times Ive been at the super secret area I released to the public in this thread (HRBT shh....), and Ive been wearing out the flounder while the boats next to me havent caught anything (the reverse is also true much more often).

Same thing happens to me when I try to catch those red drum on the shoals, or cobia at bluefish rock. I know the area to fish, heck I even know some great structure at the rock that holds fish, but that doesnt mean I can catch them worth a damn.

My father got stationed at Langley 5 years ago the summer before my senior year of high school and I had spent the previous 17 years of my life fishing freshwater. I had no clue how to fish the bay, and if it wasnt for people from this site helping me out, I wouldnt be anywhere near where I am today (which isnt that impressive mind you). Ive met some great people that have taught me tons about the fishery and I am forever grateful to them. Did they tell me exact locations? No, but they did point me in the right direction to what may work and the type of areas to look for.

In the spirit of this conversation, here is a public report I made on June 4th, 2006. It was the first and only time that my father and I had both caught limits of flounder. The report is pretty darn specific and I would love to share it once again with everyone that didnt get to see it the first time. BTW, the technique still works!!!

http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/virginia-angler/81301-hrbt-flatty-limits.html

Tight lines everyone!

[Fishboy OV8]

Activity Time:
Laboratory studies and field collections indicate that summer flounder are active primarily during daylight hours (Rogers and Van Den Avyle 1983).

[Mega Bite]

Never say never when it comes to fishing. Unless you are a fish how can anyone know for sure what they really do all the time.There might be nites or times of year where most Flounder rest at nite and there might be times when they feed like banshees at nite.I know they bite at nite I have caught them if you dont believe it Who cares,less competition for us.I dive myself and have logged well over 125 dives in Virginia .I have observed Flounder in a dormant state in the Daytime where I swam up and speared them without any problem.Flounder probably rest when they can and Flounder feed when they can.

[Capt.Neil Renouf]

wow Matt hope your having a better day today. .:)) IT WAS A SARCASTIC JOKE, its all good......

[wetnet777]

I dont fish for flounder at night much, but I can say that the bite was hot @ the ODU reef one afternoon last summer and me and a fellow tidalfisher stayed on the fish until 1:30 in the morning consistently catching 20" fish. Maybe we just got lucky. My 2cents anyway

[MattD]

Ive never been much good at sensing sarcasm over the internet! Oh well, at least I got to tell a nice story.... Sorry Capt. Neil

[hookinfinger]

Not preaching here, or getting deep. Board member Sanity said it best years ago though.

Something like this.

It is hard to tell at times what people mean when reading written words. In other words unless you are standing face to face and are able to see facial gestures, hand gestures Etc; it is sometimes hard to interpret meanings.

I know I have posted things that I meant as humor and ended up getting blasted.:D:clap:

Oh well, it's all good.


Dennis:))

[Capt.Neil Renouf]

That's right, it's all good....no offense taken my brother. I do think a couple of good spots at night have been missed out though:))......