Summer Flounder

Paralichthys dentatus

1 min read Late spring through summer

Fluke, to nearly everyone who fishes for them. A flatfish that begins life looking like an ordinary fish and then, over a few weeks as a larva, has one eye migrate across its skull so it can lie flat on the bottom with both eyes facing up.

They are ambush hunters that bury in sand with only their eyes showing, waiting for a bait to pass close enough. That biology dictates the technique: keep your bait or jig on or just above the bottom, moving with the drift, along sand edges and channel slopes near the inlets. Standing still catches far fewer fish than a controlled drift.

Size limits on fluke are strict and change often, and the ratio of throwbacks to keepers can be discouraging. The keepers are worth it — flounder is among the best white fish in the Atlantic.

Gear for this fish

Booyah Bucktail Jig 1/8oz White Aqua Shad

The workhorse jig for this fishery.

$3.69

Booyah Bucktail Jig 1/4oz White Aqua Shad

The workhorse jig for this fishery.

$3.69

Booyah Bucktail Jig 1/8oz Black/Chartreuse

The workhorse jig for this fishery.

$3.69

Booyah Bucktail Jig 1/8oz Black/Brown

The workhorse jig for this fishery.

$3.69

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Morone saxatilis

2 min read Spring and fall

Channel edges, rips, and the Susquehanna Flats

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1 min read Summer into fall

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1 min read Late summer and fall

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Tautog

Tautoga onitis

1 min read Spring and late fall

Wrecks, rock piles, and bridge rubble

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1 min read Spring through fall

Tidal-fresh rivers, pads, docks, and grass

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1 min read Summer

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Summer Flounder

Paralichthys dentatus

1 min read Late spring through summer

Sandy bottom near inlets and channel edges

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Pogonias cromis

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Lower Bay shoals and shell bottom

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1 min read Summer

Lower Bay, around buoys and structure

Spanish Mackerel

Scomberomorus maculatus

1 min read Mid to late summer

Open Bay, warm clear water

Yellow Perch

Perca flavescens

1 min read Late winter into early spring

Upper tidal rivers and creeks

American Shad

Alosa sapidissima

1 min read Spring

Susquehanna and major tributaries

Blue Crab

Callinectes sapidus

2 min read Late spring through fall

Grass beds, shallows, and piers Bay-wide

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Opsanus tau

1 min read Year-round

Oyster bottom, pilings, and rubble

Atlantic Menhaden

Brevoortia tyrannus

1 min read Spring through fall

Open Bay, in vast schools