October 04, 2012
By Terry Lacoss
And you wonder where the big fish are lurking. Check under your boat next time! This news item from Capt. Terry Lacoss, Florida Sportsman Contributing Editor and owner of Amelia Angler Outfitters
Nolan Barry paddled north from the Fernandina Harbor boat ramp to some fishy dock pilings where he'd experienced a good flounder bite during previous fishing trips.
Positioning his kayak so that he could work live finger mullet precisely under boat docks and dangerously close to pilings, Nolan began catching flounder in the 1- to 2-pound class. A cast far back under a large dock with several barnacle crusted pilings produced a solid thump, indicating a flounder had just taken Nolan's live finger mullet and was chewing on it. Waiting patiently until the flounder moved the live bait far back into its mouth, Nolan set the hook firmly.
Nolan had all that he could do to keep his large flounder from tangling in the barnacle-crusted pilings, while at the same time, hoping that his hook was set firmly in the flounder's mouth and his 20-pound fluorocarbon shock leader would hold up.
“There wasn't anything I could really do with this big flounder that appeared to weigh well over 10 pounds,” Nolan said. “However Captain Benny Hendrix soon came to my rescue, grabbed a nearby landing gaff and landed my flounder which was too far away from my kayak to personally land.”
Nolan Barry's summer flounder weighed a hefty 14.5 pounds!
