Oh the pain! The agony! I'm on a crewboat, and still have 17 days left...Ya can't say stuff like that! I KNEW this hitch was gonna eat up some of the best.
Yes, the average keepers are 2-3-4 pounds. Fine fish. Those medium-Sacalait-size Flounder, IMHO, are throw-backs. Upto a certain size, a young Flounder is very thin, skinny. Once they reach a certain size, they start to get thick. I will NOT keep a Flounder until they have reached or surpassed that point where they start to get thick...that's my standard.
Southern Flounder are Very Serious Predators. I've watched big Flounder feed on big flats, I'm guessing eating Mullet. These fish were coming out of the water, flipping and tumbling as they struck baitfish. Flounder also have gnarly teeth and lots of crushing power in their jaws. Sometimes, You'll "set the hook" nice and solid, to turn up nothing. Those big, smart Flounder will clamp down on a bait so hard that You can't slide the bait in their mouth to dig the hook-point...then they'll spit it out. I listened to a report from some older guys that my Dad and I used to fish with. They were fishing a spot in the marsh You had to get out of the boat and walk to. They said You could see the Flounder, and watch them hit Your bait. Throwing Spoons, some of those Flounder would hit and bite down so hard, that the hook-set couldn't slide the slick piece of metal between their teeth so the treble hook could dig in...and the Flounder would spit it out...fwooh! Flounder are Bad to the BONE, fight hard and are EXCELLENT Table Fare.
