The flounder run is hot this year! Literally.

A 21.5 inch flounder gigged at East Pass.  It's great to be back in Florida.

       I have been working in Wyoming since June and I just recently returned to Florida.  Wyoming was so beautiful, in an almost dangerous way, with its remote mountains and windswept deserts.  At times, however, I did really miss being in the southeast, especially the panhandle of Florida.  When late August arrived I could almost taste the sweet purple muscadines that I used to pick around Tallahassee.  To relieve my homesickness I just drank some homemade muscadine wine, which helped a little, and reminded myself that although I missed the muscadine harvest, I would make it home in time for the fall flounder run.

      You can go flounder gigging almost year round, but the easiest time is now.  Basically, the flounder, which have been living in the bays, bayous, and Santa Rosa Sound need to go to deeper water in the Gulf of Mexico to spawn.  So, every fall almost all of the adults start to migrate out to the Gulf.  Flounder that live in the Emerald Coast Region have two ways of getting out to the Gulf; Pensacola Pass or East Pass (near Destin).  This means that a ridiculous amount of flounder are funneling through these two relatively narrow areas in a brief period of time.  This results in a very high concentration of fish.  All you have to do is wade through the water with a waterproof light (more on that later) and a gig (a multi-pronged spear for fish, frogs etc.), and when you see a fish, quickly stab it in its head.  It's brutal but fun.
      In some years, you have to brave cold temperatures (for Floridians) and gusty winds, but to my surprise, when I arrived in Florida I noticed it was still really warm.  At first I thought the run may not have even started but I went out last Tuesday and it had!  Apparently, flounder use other cues to trigger their spawning migration (that could be an interesting research project).  The water temperature was so warm that I could comfortably wet wade without even feeling chilly.  Yes I know, in my photo I am decked out in a beany and a jacket, but that is because that is what I normally wear.  I shed those in about 15 minutes.  Normally I wade until I start to stumble because my legs are so numb from the cold, but this year I just wade until I find enough fish for dinner.  It doesn’t take long.  There is a good mix of medium sized keepers for eating and doormats to satisfy your ego.  So, if you are in the area, get out there and get some fish.  Just remember, these fish are on their way to spawn and could easily be overfished (eg. in Texas you can no longer gig the spawning run because of previous overfishing).  Also, there is no catch and release when gigging so be responsible.