Two Flounders from Flat Bridge 10/12 Night Fishing

Well it's been awhile since I've successfully caught a flounder. With the fall mullet run, I've been using the live bait around me but haven't had much luck with the flounder. There's just an abundance of mullet around so what makes my little mullet on a hook stand out from the rest...nothing. Decided to go back to artificial fishing, where I've had the most success with flounder this year. Tied on my 1/2oz Mission Fishin jighead and went back to old faithful, watermelon color Gulp Swimming Mullet. Worked most of the northside flat bridge and pulled two flounder, 12" and 13". Test results are in, flounder just love the gulp!

Father & Son Flat Bridge Monday Night 7/28

My son Cody is starting to like fishing since we've switched to using live baitfish instead of Gulp!. He had fun last night when he caught his first butterfly ray so he wanted to go again tonight. I wasn't planning on going but since he asked, I got everything ready for another night trip. Cody and I arrived in New Smyrna around 7:30pm and we needed live bait, only two baitshops would be open til 9PM and thats Thirty Eight Live Bait and NSB Bait & Tackle. I stopped by Thirty Eight Live first, an employee was already outside turning people around because they were out of everything live. So I went to NSB Bait & Tackle and I was in luck. They had plenty and plenty more of nice mud minnows. At $6 a dozen I got three dozen. A bit of overkill but I wanted leftover bait that I could keep alive for another day. With live bait acquired, we made our way to the flat bridge. It's now 8PM and the beginning of incoming tide. My favorite incoming tide spot was open thankfully. First thing I do is baitup Cody's rod with a live mud minnow. His first cast he catches a 10.5" flounder right off the bat! This is his first flounder, he's been working so hard for it. So happy for him!
Got into some ladyfish, landed a couple for the bucket. Then I get a 12" flounder to add to it. I also hooked and released a tiny flounder and a catfish. Cody then gets another tiny flounder which was smaller than the one I just caught. I end the trip catching another 12" flounder for the bucket and an 11" flounder that got a release.
Cody had an exceptional night catching his first 2 flounder. And even though he didn't catch one, he also enjoyed playing with the ladyfish. My own tally was 4 flounder, 2 ladyfish and a catfish. The bite was steady so it kept us both entertained.

Tuesday Night Flat Bridge 6/17

Arrived at 10pm to catch the last 30 minutes of the outgoing tide and then start of incoming. Had to work for em tonight! Fished the Gulp out of that bridge and only got 1 flattie but it was a nice one at 13.75" long. Caught it on white gulp swimming mullet. Pretty quiet night on the bridge. Left shortly after midnight when the current was rolling too fast.

Wednesday Night Flat Bridge 6/11

Started at my usual time around 10PM with hardly anyone on the bridge. Caught the last hour of incoming tide. First spot I jigged a gulp shrimp around the light. Saw a trout for a split second near the water surface. So instead of fishing the bottom, I decided to slowly let the current drift the gulp shrimp. I would drop my bait down and then lift it up off the bottom a few feet. As the current drifted it, I would slowly raise my rod tip so the bait would look like it's going towards the surface. This method worked immediately because I caught a nice 17.5" spotted seatrout on the first cast after seeing the surface trout. Gave me a good fight, I forgot how strong these fish are compared to lazy flounder.
Unfortunately the action just wasn't there tonight after that. The trout quickly disappeared. I jigged gulp shrimp some more at different spots but no hits. Also spent alot of time looking for live finger mullet because I wanted to bottom rig for big flounder, however I only saw about a dozen all night. I managed to castnet just one. I finished the night at the same spot where I started, fishing a live mullet on the bottom. All of a sudden I see a small baby hammerhead shark swimming by. It swims by my line, turns around and dives to eat my mullet. But it only bit the tail off. Dropped the remaining chunk of mullet so it was floating below the surface. A few seconds later the hammerhead comes back to finish what it started and gets hooked this time. Slow night but still came home with a nice trout!

17.50" Spotted Seatrout on Gulp New Penny Shrimp


Baby Hammerhead shark on finger mullet

Flat Bridge Tuesday Night 6/10

Arrived around 10pm and the tide had just started to switch outgoing. Fished a few light poles on the northside before the current picked up. Caught a small flounder and a 14" redfish that got a release. FWC officer made a visit again and while he was busy on the other side of the bridge, I caught a fat 12.5" flounder. Everything caught on gulp shrimp tonight. I realized how slow you have to crawl the gulp shrimp to get hits. Just cast it out, let it hit bottom and sit for a few seconds, then start the ever so slow retrieve.
Had a brief "oh shit" moment with a huge seaturtle while I was jigging for flounder. My jig got caught on him but luckily the barb of the hook didn't go through. I just gave the line slack and shook the hook off.

Flat Bridge Thursday Night 6/5

Set foot on the bridge around 10:30pm and caught the last of the outgoing tide. Tried some of my favorite holes but couldn't get a hit on anything. I had gulp shrimp and white gulp swimming mullet. Some tails were bit off but thats common with snappers and pinfish if they are around. Fast forward to midnight and still nothing to show for. The tide slacked and I snagged a tiny butterfly ray on the fin. He will be okay. I was working my way back to the parking lot and planned to leave at 1:00am. Now it's about 12:50am and I'm at the last light pole before I go home....
Then finially at 12:55am a flounder decides to wakeup for a snack and i'm at the right place at the right time. He hits my swimming mullet and I cross his eyes, literally. The hook went right thru his eye. Yikes! Luckily for him he's a fat 13" so I could put him on ice and out of his misery. It's a win win situation.

Flat Bridge Wednesday Night 6/4

Went to the bridge and it was a slow night. Had the last of the outgoing tide just before slack tide to try for flounder but couldn't get a hit. Switched baits and spots all night. Finially caught this little guy and released it to grow.

Flattie Report Sunday Night 5/25

I arrived just after 10pm as the incoming tide was slowing down. It's Memorial weekend so I expected it to be busy. The far east end of the bridge was packed with people and just a few others scattered about. Claimed a spot and started with gulp shrimp. No hits on gulp shrimp tonight. I found most of my hits came off the gulp swimming mullet bait, which I had in pearl white and chartruese. I caught a 12" flounder on white swimming mullet and then a 13" flounder on chartreuse swimming mullet. The second light post on the north end and south end of the bridge produced the fish tonight. Good night on the bridge, finially some keepers.

Flat Bridge Saturday Night 5/24

Hit the bridge at 9:00pm to hit the last of the incoming tide and then slack. It is memorial weekend so I knew there would be at least some fishermen around. The far east end was occupied with large groups of people. Out of the 8 light poles, half were available to fish. Luckily, my favorite hole was open so I started there first. Then a couple arrive and decide to camp about 15 feet from me. After clearing the light with no hits I decided to move away from the stupid people that just camped on top of me. The next light pole was open, and after a few casts I finially caught a small flounder on chartruese swimming mullet. Worked my way back and forth, crossing over to the southside and back over to the northside. Only caught 2 more small flounder all on chartreuse swimming mullet. All three flounder were between 11" - 11.5" so they got a release. Tonight I got to use my new Rapala foldable ruler for the first time and I love it. It has a foldup end wall to bump fish against for more accuracy. I like it alot better than using a standard tape measure. The pictures turned out nice too! :)

Flattie Report Monday Night 5/19

Arrived at the flat bridge around 10:30pm with my friend Zack. The outgoing tide was just slacking up so it was perfect time to try for flounder. Started with a pearl white gulp swimming mullet and fished my favorite spots. Near the first light I pulled a small flattie that got a release to grow. Something kept biting the tails off my swimming mullet bait, and by now the tide was slack. So I did two things, downsized my jig from a 1/2 to 1/4oz and then switched to gulp shrimp. I went down to the second light and immediately caught a nice 15" flounder for the bucket! Dropped my bait down again at the same spot and caught a 13" flounder for the bucket. Then again, dropped my bait down at the same spot and caught a toad fish LOL. I'm thinking wow I just caught 3 fish in 15 minutes! After the toadfish I had to move around again to find the fish. Finially caught another flounder but it was too short to keep. Didn't get another hit on the gulp shrimp so I switched back to the white gulp swimming mullet. First cast after the bait switch and I catch a keeper 12" flounder! All fish were caught between the first and second lights. Finished with a personal best 5 flounder caught during this trip, only kept the three keepers. Great night on the water!

11" flounder on white gulp swimming mullet


15" flounder on new penny gulp shrimp


13" flounder on new penny gulp shrimp


toad fish on new penny gulp shrimp


11" flounder on new penny gulp shrimp


12" flounder on white gulp swimming mullet

Flat Bridge Sunday Night 5/18

Started at 10:30pm and fished the bridge for a couple hours at night. Winds were better and tide was low slack when I arrived. Two other groups of fishermen already on the bridge but my favorite hole was open. As soon as I walk on the bridge I can hear someones reel singing and a guy yelling "Oh yea thats a shark!". Um no it's a sailcat.

It's vacation time folks! The annual tourist run. Mostly small ones but I'm sure bigger ones will follow. Catch and release only. I ran into a guy from N.C. on vacation. He's a really nice fellow but could talk your ear off. I mean really talk your ear off. He pretty much told me his whole life story. While I'm slowly walking the bridge trying to jig for flounder, he's slowing following me. This went on for a good 45 minutes. Finially shook off the talking head and was able to get a bite. It was an under 12" flounder caught on gulp shrimp. Released to grow.

Current started to pickup and fishing was slow at my favorite spots. Had to move around to find the fish and I finially did. Third spot pulled in a 12" flounder on a watermelon gulp swimming mullet. It was gut hooked and bleeding out bad. I knew with the amount of blood it lost it wasn't going to make it so I just kept him. No use letting the crabs have it. Caught my first lizard fish! Nasty little buggers. For a small fish it was really strong. Ended the night with another 12" flounder after I switched bait to a white gulp swimming mullet. Thats it!

Flattie Report Wednesday Night 5/14

Arrived just after 10pm on the bridge. Current was incoming and incoming fast, wind was a steady 10mph. I still had another 2 hours before peak high tide so I had some time to kill before I would try the flounder. Started out with gulp swimming mullet and worked the lights. Had a few small jabs at the bait but nothing wanted to commit. By now it was after 11pm and the tide had started to slow down a little. I switched to gulp shrimp and caught a 12" flounder. Mowed the entire northside of the bridge without another hit. Switched back to gulp swimming mullet and caught a 15.5" flounder for the bucket! Just as midnight came, so did the rain. It started out as a sprinkle then quickly became a downpour. Left the bridge soaked lol. Still a good night!

12" flounder on gulp shrimp


15.5" flounder on white gulp swimming mullet

Daytime Flat Bridge Monday 5/12

Invited my friend Zack to fish the flat bridge Monday late morning. We arrived around 10:30am and nobody was on the bridge. Stopped by Donalds bait to originally get some live finger mullet but they were out! Ugh, so instead I got two dozen live shrimp. Fished the favorite spot on the bridge with little success. It was a long two hours of fishing. Finially at 12:15pm I got a small flounder on live shrimp just trolling the bottom. Threw it back to grow. And then 15 minutes later I got a nice 10" mangrove snapper! Zack found the honey hole with 4 mangroves himself but he threw them all back thinking I didn't want them lol. Not sure if he had any keepers. So the sun was hot all day and the tide was slack most of the two hours. It finially started moving around 11:30-noon. The bite was shutdown until after the tide started moving again.

small flounder on live shrimp


10" mangrove snapper on live shrimp

Slow Flattie Report - Tuesday Night 5/6

Had the whole brige to myself again when I arrived a little after 10pm. Started with gulp shrimp and fished the usual spots for flounder. It was the last of the outgoing tide so the current wasn't rolling too hard. I didn't catch anything between my two favorite light poles that usually hold the fish, so I wasn't off to a good start. I figured it was because the tide was still outgoing so I crossed over the bridge to see if they were over there. First light pole nothing, then second light pole I caught a small bluefish. Next cast I catch a small flounder that got a release. And that was it for the night. I fished for another hour or so but nothing else to report.

Wednesday Night Slam @ Flat Bridge 4/30

Arrived at the flat bridge shortly after 10pm and saw it was empty. Walked out to my favorite flattie spot then noticed the current was incoming and incoming fast. It's hard to work the gulp properly when it's drifting so quickly. I tried anyway with the swimming mullet first. Felt the flounder tap and pulled one off the bottom that was a fat 12". The bite died for the longest time after that, mostly due to the fast current. I tried just about every light pole on the bridge on both sides. When I got a hit it was a stupid ladyfish biting the tails off my gulp. Switched over to gulp shrimp and finially landed one of the ladyfish and threw it back. Decided to try one more light pole and this time I put on a watermelon gulp swimming mullet. Tried the side near aunt catfish restaurant and caught a 16.5" redfish. Not a bad outcome considering the fast current, three different fish on three different baits.

Fat 12" Flounder on white gulp swimming mullet


16.5" Redfish on watermelon gulp swimming mullet

Monday Night Flattie Report 4/21

Conditions were nice for a night fishing trip. Surf was too rough to fish so the flat bridge it is. Had the entire bridge to myself again for most of the night. Started out at my usual flounder hole using white Gulp swimming mullet. Pulled a 13" flounder for the bucket and then about 25 minutes later I got another flounder but it was short. Tried on a watermelon Gulp swimming mullet and hooked a small seatrout that got a release. The ladyfish were biting but only if I kept the bait moving. I hooked a few lady's but only docked one. Action died off for awhile, it took about another hour before I finially got a 12" flounder on gulp shrimp. By now it was past midnight and I was getting tired. Plus I was being surrounded by some late arrival fishermen, a group on each end of the bridge and I'm sandwiched in the middle. Plus my favorite light pole was occupied so I just headed back home with the two flatties. Good night on the bridge!

13" Flounder on white Gulp swimming mullet


small Flounder on white Gulp swimming mullet


small Seatrout on watermelon Gulp swimming mullet


12" Flounder on new penny Gulp shrimp

First Flounder of 2014! Flat Bridge 4/14

It's been awhile since I've fished the flat bridge, mostly because of the annual invasion of bluefish. It's not fun driving an hour and missing sleep over some worthless blues. They can get fun to catch if you just want to fish but they chomp baits so fast that you'll go through a whole pack of Gulp before you know it. So this winter I stayed away from the bridge and just waited them out. Once the bluefish leave, it's pretty much a free for all for everything else like flounder and trout.
Reports from the bridge the past week have been great with many flounder coming over the rails. I haven't caught a flounder all year so it was time to go. Headed out at my usual time and arrived about 10-ish. Had the entire bridge to myself which was awesome. Started out with gulp shrimp at the first light pole. My first cast I had a 12" flounder on deck! Nice way to start the night. Well, the action quickly stalled so I switched baits. I put on a white gulp swimming mullet and tried the bottom again. Caught another flounder at the same light pole that was 13" long. That was it, but it was nice to be back in action.

Slow Flat Bridge Monday Night 11/25

Another trip to flat bridge Monday night thinking the wind would keep some of the other fishermen away. Well my thoughts were right because I had the whole bridge to myself. Arrived about 10pm and stayed until about 1am. Tide was still outgoing with about another hour before slack tide. Very little baitfish on the northside of the bridge. I happen to see 2 finger mullet swimming by so I tossed my castnet and got them right away. For the finger mullet, I hooked them on a bottom fishfinder rig hoping for a big hungry flounder to pick it up. It's happened before! But the only thing that picked it up was a HUGE ladyfish. It gave me a nice fight and I was able to bring it up on the bridge. One of the largest ladyfish I've caught.

I also tried for flounder along the northside. First I tried watermelon swimming mullet (gulp). Ladyfish kept picking up my bait, running with it and then dropping. Switched to new penny gulp shrimp and mowed the northside again. Finially caught a short flounder that got a release. Well thats the report.

Where are those big flounder?!

Sunday Night Flat Bridge 11/17

Nothing much to report but this small flounder caught on Gulp watermelon swimming mullet.

Fat 15" Flounder @ Flattie Bridge 10/27

Arrived at the bridge about 10:30pm. Winds were relatively calm and the air was cool. Tide was still outgoing and about another 2 hours before slack tide. I spent the evening mowing the bridge with my jigging pole and gulp shrimp new penny. Only one other fisherman so I had most of the bridge to myself. I started on the north side. Spot #1 no dice, moved to next light post and caught a small flounder that got a release. The bite pretty much stopped after that. It was hard to fish for flounder while the tide was rolling my jig under the bridge. I moved over to the south side of the bridge and mowed the entire way without a hit. Crossed back over to the north side and continued to jig while I waited for the tide change. Didn't get anything else on the gulp shrimp for the rest of the evening...but...
As I was walking the bridge I noticed two ropes tied to the bridge rails. I had saw them when I first arrived but didn't think anything of them. So I was bored and nobody was around I decided to investigate. I was surprised to see that the ropes were actually holding something in the water. I pulled up and another surprise, it was a homemade drop bucket for live bait. So I lift the bucket up and look inside, and another surprise. It was filled with live finger mullet! Haha lucky me because there was no bait in the water and I was getting ready to leave since gulp baits weren't doing much. So I pulled up the second rope and it's the exact same thing, another bait bucket filled with live finger mullet. Good thing I brought my live bait poles! Rushed back to the car to grab some more gear and quickly setup again near flattie rock. I dropped finger mullet on the bottom on two different poles. By now it's about 1:30am and the tide is slack. I'm at the second light if your counting left to right. I noticed one of my finger mullet rods wasn't moving, meaning either the mullet is dead or something stole my bait while I wasn't looking. So I grabbed the rod, but I felt a dead weight so I lifted fast and actually caught a flounder! I didn't even know he was on the line. He must have swallowed my bait and just laid there in one spot. This one was just legal at 12".
Moved back down to the first light near flattie rock and setup the live mullet rods there. I get a nice hit on live mullet and quickly see it's a big flounder. Took the risk and tried to jump it up over the rails. Fortunately for me it didn't popoff the hook while doing this and I just landed a fat 15" flounder. My kind of flattie! That was it for the night, no more hits and nothing else happened after that. I finially packed up and left around 3am.

small flounder on gulp shrimp new penny


12" flounder on live finger mullet


fat 15" flounder on live finger mullet