Floundering in Gloucester

On Sunday I took my son Braden “Sharkbait” out for flounder during the NEKF annual Flounder Fest get together. He had to get up at 3:15 so we could launch before 6:30, but popped right out of bed ready to go.

We launched into wet but calm conditions into Gloucester Harbor around 6:30. He was pretty serious about catching dinner since on our last flounder trip he lost a nice flounder and ended up with a skate.

The last time we went he sat in the tank well of the Cuda. It worked but it was difficult for me to help him out. So this time he took my Coosa out with the plan that I would tow him through currents and wind when he got tired. By the way that’s how he got the nickname of SharkBait since I dragged him around a lot last year.

It didn’t take long for the wind to pick up and get snotty. We had horizontal rain and with some strong gusts. Luckily I found a lobster pot to tie to (they also act as chum pots) and that let us fish a while longer since the wind was pushing us too fast even with a drift chute out.

After about 4.5 hours on the water we called it a day and headed in. He caught one of the biggest flounders of the day at 17″ (he had quite a dinner that night) and was all smiles even while explaining to me he was not wet but soaked.

He also wanted his picture with the statue from the “Tuna Show”

We had a great time in spite of the weather but when the water is frozen 4-5 months out of the year you have to grab hold of every opportunity.

Gregg Crisp