July means shallow surf opportunities for fluke, here’s how you can cash in!
By far my favorite summer activity, when it comes to fishing, is hitting the early morning surf in the hunt for a limit of fluke. Growing up without a boat, I learned to work with what was provided, and luckily even to this day, I can walk to my local beaches and some of my trusty spots still yield a fruitful harvest of flatties. A lot of people rely on boat fishing to get their fluke limit, but by having patience and drive, you can hone in on a great bite without having to break the inlet.
If you know me, I have done countless seminars on fluking, filmed multiple Open Boat episodes for The Fisherman on the species, and even wear a golden fluke necklace adorned with a pearl, so I know a thing or two about this well-favored fish. Hopefully this article convinces a few surfcasters that fluke are more than worth their time in the summer surf.
The first question you may be asking is why did she title this column “Anklebiters”!? I have to admit, when I came up with it, I laughed out loud, because it’s very fitting. When it comes to traditional surfcasting for stripers or bluefish, usually you have to cast far out past the bar; when it comes to fluking the surf, most of the time I’ll just underhand pitch my jig into the wash.
Fluke are ambush predators, they lay on the bottom with both eyes looking up waiting to strike a passing baitfish (or your jig). A lot of the time, these fish will strike very close to the shoreline, sometimes so close that we’re talking ankle deep water. There have been plenty of times on the beach when I’ve been able to sight-fish for fluke; if the surf is calm just past the first drop, you can may be able to their eyes and mouths sticking out of the sand. It’s even cooler when you drop a jig right next to one and actually watch it strike, sometimes relying on more than just feel can elevate your fishing experience.
Most of the time though, you do just have to rely on feel when it comes to surf fluking, as sight-fishing opportunities are rare. I always say, “if you have the time to go, just go and make it work.” You’re going to come back with some new piece of information that you can learn from, regardless of what you catch or don’t catch. There have been so many times when the surf looked beyond unfishable, but I put my time in and learned to improvise, adapt, and overcome. For example, if there’s a strong sweep, this is when you cast and work your jig back in at an angle, working with the tide.
The most important tip I can offer, reflecting back to their “anklebiter” tendencies is to work your jig back all the way back your feet. When I fish the surf for fluke, I’m literally standing on the beach, my feet are not in the water at all. I’ll say it again, these fish are often very close to the beach, so I stay out of the water to avoid spooking them.
There’s an excellent Open Boat episode (#104 Let’s Fluke The Beach) where I take the viewers fishing with me and we go to my local beach to fluke the surf. I had to keep track of who had more fish, me or the osprey hunting the shallow waters – but he didn’t have to follow local regulations, so he had an edge! Toward the end of the video, I was distracted by a pod of dolphins when my line went tight very close to my feet. Setting the hook resulted in a record breaking 2-second fight because this fish was basically buried in the beach face. A chunky yield of a near-keeper fluke really tied the whole episode together because you could see my excitement of getting that fish so close to my feet.
That was one of my favorite episodes not only because of the action, but because of how much the ocean means to me. Nothing compares to an early morning on the beach; beautiful sunrises, all the life, and just the peaceful sound of the waves gently crashing down on sand and shells, how can you beat that? For the rest of my life, I will always be found on the beach fishing, I have an unbreakable connection with it.
I don’t just go to the beach to find fish, I go there to find peace, and this is why I encourage you all to go out there, even if it’s just for an hour to find out how magical that fluking hour can be!
