UTER
Photo: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pseudopleuronectes americanus
How to catch Winter flounder
Winter flounder feed in 38–64°F water and bite best at 44–58°F. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows them in 4 waters.
8 pts · trophy at 18"Feeds 38–64°FBest 44–58°FOut of season nowChannel edgeGrass flatDock / pilingsMarina / fuel dockFishing pier
About
The blackback: the small-mouthed flatfish that comes into the harbors and salt ponds to spawn in winter and feeds there in the cold spring — the first fish of the year from New Jersey to Maine. Stocks are low south of the Cape.
How to fish it
Anchor on the mud in a harbor or salt pond, a chum pot on the bottom, small long-shank hooks with worms; a sunny afternoon on the warmest mud.
What it eats
sandwormsbloodwormsclamsmussels
Live bait for it
BloodwormsA piece threaded on a #2 to 2/0 hook on a hi-lo or fish-finder rig — the striper, spot, croaker and white perch bait of the Chesapeake and the surf.
What to fish it with
the sizes that fish itLeader20–40 lb fluorocarbon
Hook#1–4/0
Jig head1/8–1/2 oz
Braid10–30 lb
The rule
not confirmed hereRules differ by state — check Rhode Island DEM (seasons and limits differ by state and are tight) before you keep one.
The current rule →Where it is, month by month
PPeakSSpawningAArriving·AroundLLeaving
Mid & North Atlantic