• Scientific name: Platichthys flesus
• Also known as: European Flounder, Fluke
• Size: Up to 1ft 8ins and 6lb (UK shore caught typically around 1lbs), but see below.
• UK minimum size: 11 inches (27cm) in length.
• UK shore caught record: 5lb 7oz
• IUCN Status: LC (Least Concern)
• Distribution: Common throughout UK and Irish waters. Live in shallow water often near to an influx of freshwater, favour clear sandy or muddy ground and can travel up rivers far into freshwater territory. Distribution extends into Northern European waters and into the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Also found in US and Canadian waters, although they are not native to these countries (see below).
• Feeds on: Young flounder will eat mostly marine worms and prawns, older fish will add crustaceans and molluscs to this.
• Description: Rounded diamond shape with rough surface along the lateral line. Colour can range from light brown to green to greyish, sometimes with dark orange spots. White underbelly in most flounder, although there can be freak fish with an underside the same colour as the back. The vast majority of flounder have eyes on the right side of their head but a minority have eyes on the left.

Flounder is a common flatfish species found around most of the UK. Due to their wide distribution, willingness to take most baits and the fact that they can come into very shallow water they are a common catch for many UK anglers. Indeed, flounder provide many young anglers with their first experience of catching fish with a baited hook.

Distribution and Habitat

Flounder can be found all around the UK and Ireland throughout the year, but in late winter/early spring they tend to move into deeper water to spawn meaning they turn up in anglers catches less often at this time of year, although they still can be caught from the shore. Flounder are found around almost all of the UK and although they are more numerous in the cooler water around the British Isles and the Nordic countries they can still be found in the warmer waters of the Mediterranean and along parts of the northern coast of Africa. Flounders have something of a reputation as an invasive species outside of Europe and are found in US and Canadian waters, including in the Great Lakes. As they are not native to North America it is believed that flounder eggs or immature flounder have been transported across the Atlantic in the ballast water of ships. Flounder are not thought to have a significant impact on the eco-systems of North America and are not considered a damaging invasive species.

Flounder are happy to feed in very shallow water and can sometimes be found in water which is just inches deep. They can also live in water with a very low salinity level and can travel very far up rivers to the extent that freshwater anglers using earthworms as bait sometimes catch them from locations very far inland. Many anglers looking at marks many miles inland simply do not believe that saltwater fish can be found there, only to be surprised when flounder are caught. Indeed, this species can travel so far inland that flounder have occasionally also been observed in land-locked Switzerland. Flounder prefer muddy and sandy ground and are usually found in estuaries, large shallow bays and sandy beaches close to where rivers join the sea. Muddy or sandy beaches that hold lugworm and ragworm offer higher chances of flounder catches, while estuaries are also likely to hold good numbers of flounder.

Reputation as a Food Fish and Conservation Status

The relative ease which with flounders can be caught make them a dependable catch for UK anglers and they are sought after in sea fishing competitions where catching flounder can make the difference between winning or losing. Unlike the similar plaice, flounder are not held in high regard as a food fish and most anglers fish for flounder on a catch-and-release basis.

Flounder are not commonly sold to UK consumers and their main use to commercial fishermen can be as bait for lobster and crab pots – in some areas of the UK flounder numbers have been badly hit by commercial fishermen taking excessive numbers as pot bait. Elsewhere in Europe flounder are caught commercially and sold for human consumption. While the flounder is considered a species of Least Concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature the overexploitation of this species means that the organisation classes it as having a decreasing population trend.

Flounder Size

Flounder are usually modestly sized fish, with the vast majority being caught around the UK weighing up to 1lb. A flounder between 2 – 3lb can be considered a very good catch from the shore, although the British record is a specimen of 5lb 7oz, caught by B. Sokell on the River Teign in Devon in 1994. The British boat caught record is a slightly larger specimen of 5lb 11oz caught by A. G. L. Cobbledick off the coast of Cornwall all of the way back in 1956. The International Game Fish Association list the world record as a 6lb 7oz flounder caught by Anne Karin Lothe in Maurangerfjorden, Norway in 2004.

Confusion between Flounder and Plaice

Flounder can be distinguished from plaice as they are duller in colour, do not have the bony ridge on the back of their head and the tail is larger. The bright orange spots which are on the back of plaice are also absent. See here for a detailed article on identification of the various flatfish found in UK waters. Confusingly, ‘plounders’ also exist. These are flounder/plaice hybrids that exist Scandinavian waters, although they are occasionally caught in the North Sea.

Methods and Techniques to Catch Flounder

Flounder are often caught when targeting larger species such as cod or bass. Many anglers, however, use light equipment to specifically target founder, especially in estuaries and harbours where conditions are likely to be calm and having to deal with heavy and rough seas will not be an issue. Specialist flatfish rods are on the market which can be used to fish for flounder and related flatfish species, although bass, spinning or even carp rods can be effectively used instead. Since casting distance is not an issue when targeting flounder rigs with two or three flapping hooks are used and this allows a different bait to be used on each one, and also allows a stronger scent trail to be built up. A common reason for missing out on catching flounder is casting past the feeding fish. Flounder come very, very close to the shore and casts just ten or fifteen yards (or even less) can locate flounder.

As flounder often seek out depressions and channels in the seabed using a plain weight that will roll around and lie in these gullies can be a good tactic to find flounder. The main bait when going for flounder is lugworm and ragworm, although they will also happily take mussel, mackerel and peeler crab. Harbour ragworm (maddies) are a top bait for flounder, with several of the small worms threaded onto a hook making an excellent flounder bait. Flounder have a fairly small mouth and often pull at a bait before full taking it in their mouth. Many anglers strike too early and are left confused and frustrated as to why they keep missing bites. Anglers should allow flounder bites to develop before striking and reeling in. Long shanked hooks size 2 – 1/0 are best to use as they present worm baits well and are easier to remove from the flounder’s small mouth. Some anglers advise using smaller hooks down to sizes 4 or 6, but larger flounder can completely consume hooks this size and it becomes impossible to unhook and return these fish. Light gauge hooks are also the best choice as they cause less damage to the worm baits that are often used to fish for this species.

There is plenty of evidence that using beads and sequins on hooklengths does indeed attract inquisitive flatfish such as flounder and also plaice. Anglers adding these to hooklengths often out catch anglers who do not. Some anglers just put beads on the hooklength, while others alternate beads with sequins. A wide range of sequins and beads are available some of which are specially designed as sea fishing attractor beads, while sequins can be bought from any stationary shop. Similarly, attractor spoons are also added to hooklengths. Spoons spin and turn in the tide and can also churn up the seabed which creates an added source of attraction for flounders.