Fishing Trips

It was our first session for flounder this year. My two longest fish measured at 35cm. Together we caught to 14 flatties today . Good result for a 1,5h bash. I also caught tiny schoolie in the river, which was a big surprise for me. BTW this is my smallest bass ever :) We kept flounder in the carp net, for a photo session, later on. All of them, were returned into the river to fight another day :)

P.S. Something more about it :)

Situation.
It is a summer evening. I fish one of my my mark at '' sunset boulevard'' in Arklow. Busy road is behind me. One of the passing cars stops. This is a very common situation in the ''urban fishing''. Typical question .
-Hi there! Any luck?
Being a polite person, I answer honestly.
-Howya? Not bad at all. I had a couple nice flatties.
-Flatties??? In the river??? But i see U do lure fishing.
-Correct. Imo this is the best method to fish flounder in this spot.
-Idiot. Those were the last words I heard before the car left :)
I think, my answers like that ''I hunted here for the swans'' would sounded more seriously for him ;)
Why? Coz peple still don't believe in regular fluke fishing.

Facts.
European flounder are very common fish in our waters. It is present within a casting distance of the shore, but the distribution, like the other species of fish, may be local. It resides mainly in low sanlinity waters like an estuaries. But is the only one, from the flatfish family, able to live in freshwater for some periods, and penetrate upstreams rivers. Because, it cannot spawn there as the eggs will not develop, must return to the sea. Spawning season in most cases, is starts in January and continues till February, sometimes longer.*
Flounder are the real predator. Big eyes and mouth, strong teeths. Perfect camouflage and flattened shape allows them to become nearly invisible on the bottom. They are hunting like a pike, wait for the prey to come within striking distance before attacking . But it happen very often, that they can chase lure for some distance.
*source-Wikipedia

Season.
My fluke season starts in May and continuos till September. This is interesting but flounder appear and dissapear in Avoca River at the same time as other common species- mullets.
Gear.
At the beginning I used to fish flounder on my light pike rod. It was old good ABU 9'er, cw up 25g, reel size 3000, with mono line 0.22mm. On this set I caught a lot of fish. After that I went into more light tackle. Perch rod 8'6''- c.w up to 10g matched with Shimano size 1000 reel, become a perfect combo for a river flatties. I also reduced line diameter to 0.18mm, but it strenght is refered still for about 10 lbs. Avoca River is full of hidden treasures alike: shopping troleys, old bicycles, traffic cones and similar stuff :) So 10lber mono line gives me a chance to straighten jig hook and save lures.
Lures.
Typical perch soft plastic lures and small spinners (mepps 0-2 size) and plugs (smallest version of Salmo Hornet's S). Plastics are mounted on jig heads range 1.3g up 5g, hook size up to 2/0. Lure size from 1'' to 2.5''. I prefer 2 brands, both american-Mann's and Relax. Colours-various .
How to fish?
It is very similar to perch fishing. After cast I let my lure fall to the bottom. In many cases flounder attacks during the first drop. If this didn't happen I start to retrieve, very slowly, with many breaks. All the time I observe rod tip. Sometimes bites can be very delicate, then the rod tip is bent only slightly. In such cases, I let the fish to swallow my lure deeper. Strike should be delayed.
Tides.
Avoca's tides belongs to one of the smallest in Ireland. Difference between min and max, while the largest amplitude, is less than 3ft. During high tide, flounder become more active. This is IMO the best time to fish. When the water begins to fall , flounder just disappear. I suspect that they are retreating to the riverbed. High tide is just as good if it occurs in day or night.
Night fishing.


This is fruit of 30min nite fishing

At the nite time, I fish a little different than the day. As my fishery is located in the town centre, street lamps illuminate the river. In their light can be seen swimming fish. I cast very close, directly in front of fish, which I intend to catch. Flounder are more active at night, so they also easier to catch. My best nite score -54 fish in about 3 hours.
Distribution.
Estuarine section of Avoca River is only 1 mile long, from the Nineteen Arches Bridge to the sea. Flounder are present throughout all this mile, but there are places, where fish density is larger then in other. These places change over after each flood. Finding them is the key to success :)
My conclusions.
Lure flatties are not myth. Howewer, regular fish for flounder on artifical lures, can be possibile only when they are congregate in large numbers in one place. This is the case of Avoca River. My experiences are based on that. IMO catching flounder in such a way from the shore will be rather incident, but maybe I'm wrong. Howewer, it is a great fun if you use light tackle. I can recommend to anyone-if only you can find the right place:)