Many Texas anglers associate the fall with the migration of flounder, and their re-entry into the bays in the spring is often overlooked. This is usually because speckled trout fishing takes center stage this time of year, so it’s easy to lose sight of flounder during one of the best times of year to go after them.

Flounder can be caught with live bait, dead bait, artificial bait, flies, and plastic baits, but trying to get a hookup can be frustrating at times. Flounder will often bite into a lure and tenaciously cling to it, even if it is not hooked, all the way to the boat. Just as you prepare to slide it into the net, the bubbler drops the lure. Being fast with the net can sometimes allow you to beat him in this game. One thing to remember if a puffer does this trick to you is that it has probably settled to the bottom very close to where you last saw it. Sometimes the flounder will eagerly strike again if you cast the lure and drag it around the area.

The same thing happens if you feel the light, quick taps of a flounder biting your lure, but not taking it. If you stop the lure and wait a few seconds, it might decide it has killed the prey and come back for it a second time. If there is no activity, a cast in the same area might allow you to take a second bite of the apple.

Another fish that makes its presence known in the ports and bays in spring is the sea bream. This is a unique event every year to see them in such concentrated numbers. Not only do sheepheads get overlooked by most anglers, but apparently many think they are inedible or at least too difficult to clean. While the latter may be somewhat true, they are certainly edible and quite tasty.

So if by mistake one finds its way onto your hook this spring, instead of the flooder or red you were expecting, don’t be afraid to take it home and fry a little with the other catch. I think you will be surprised.

Flounder and Sheephead can be caught around docks, but that is most likely the Sheephead’s preferred habitat. Sheepsheads also like to forage around oyster reefs and structures such as jetties and groins. Look for flooding in the passages between lakes and bays, along the intracoastal and other waterways, and along coastal marshes that are drained by tidal currents.