MFR PAPER 1159

An ancient fishing methodbrings twentieth-centuryanglers excellent results.

Night Stalking Flounderin the Ocean Surf

STANLEY M. WARLEN

INTRODUCTION

Spearing, probably the most ancientof fishing methods, is still practiced bycontemporary commercial and sportfishermen. Javelins or spears used forself-protection and for hunting terres­trial animals were probably adoptedfor fish spearing as early as the upperPaleolithic period, more than 10,000years ago (Znamierowska-Priiffer,1966). About 8,000 years later, duringthe time of the Greeks and Romans, itwas known that fish could be detectedat night using an artificial light and thenspeared. Floyd (1966) described themodern day basic gear and techniqueof gigging (spearing) flounders in shal­low protected coastal waters at night.The technique of stalking and giggingflounder while wading in the ocean surfat night with further descriptions of thegear employed are not recorded. Thepurpose of this report is to provide thisdocumentation with emphasis on themethods and equipment typically usedalong the central North Carolina coast,south and west of Cape Lookout, andto acquaint fishermen with this noveltype of surf fishing.

FISHING METHODS

Night stalking flounder in the oceansurf in North Carolina is done only inthe fall of the year, September throughNovember. It is then that flounders ofthe genus Paralichthys migrate fromthe estuaries to the ocean (Ginsburg,1952). The first cold front or so-called

Stanley M. Warlen is with theAtlantic Estuarine Fisheries Cen­ter, National Marine FisheriesService, NOAA, Beaufort, NC28516.

"mullet blow" of the fall, character­ized by decreasing air temperaturesand northerly winds, usually signals theadvent of flounder movement from theestuaries. After entering the oceanan unknown percentage of floundermove into the nearshore and surf zoneswhere they stay, feeding on the abun­dant bait fishes, until about mid­November when the decreasing watertemperature forces them to seek deeperwater.

Figure 1.-Sport fisherman lifting a gigged flounderout of the surf and preparing to thread the fish on thestringer attached to the gig. (Photo courtesy ofCurtis W. Lewis.)

BERM .--/

L~-x.-x."'"=x-:-::x"""x-x~~~~-==-""""j---~------ LONGSHORE LONGSHORE' LLOW TIDE TERRACE

BAR TROUGH

Figure 2.-Beach protlle showing porllons of the sur! zone where flounder stalking is most productive at low lide (good Indicated by cross hatching, best by x's) and at hightide (stippled).

B

A

the outer edge of the longshore baror, when there is no longshore bar,just beyond the breaking waves in knee­to waist-deep water. The areas aroundrock jetties where flounder apparentlyconcentrate for shelter and feeding arealso productive. Stalking is generallyless productive at high water becausefishing is then necessarily confined toa smaller area (Fig. 2), i.e., the lowerportion of the low-tide terrace and theadjacent part of the trough. Flounderare seldom found in areas where ripcurrents flow seaward (rip channels).Best fishing is done from about 1.5hours before to 1.5 hours after low tide.

Wind

Wa9ing waist-deep in the surf andat the same time keeping water out ofone's waders is only possible when thewaves are small, ideally less than Ifoot. Winds blowing from land to theocean (offshore winds) tend to reducethe wave height and calm the surf.

Figure 3.-Conllguratlon 01 single and mUlllprong gigs used to spear fish In the ocean sur!. A.Popular ell metal gig with a«ached stringer 01 Yo-Inch nylon twine. B. Single and three·prong (trident)gigs with wood shafts.

Surf Zone

Successful stalking in the surfrequires a knowledge of where tosearch for flounder. Flounder may befound anywhere in the surf zone inwater only a few inches deep to watertoo deep for wading. However, certainportions of this fishable area are moreproductive than others. At low tidefish may be found outside the break­ing waves beyond the low tide terrace,in the longshore trough (if the beach hasone), and on the longshore bar (Fig. 2).The most productive fishing is done on

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Physical Conditions

Night stalking flounder in the oceansurf is possible only a few nights in thefall. On a good fishing night physicalconditions must be suitable to allowwading waist deep in the surf and goodvisibility through the water. The mostimportant physical conditions affectingfishing are described below.

General Technique

The basic technique is to wade inwater waist-deep or shallower with anunderwater light to search for floundersresting on or in the sandy bottom.When a fish is detected the stalkercarefully readies his gig directly overthe prey and with a quick thrust plungesthe gig into the fish. Occasionallyflounder may be seen swimming slowlyover the bottom and may be gigged onthe move. To minimize the damage tothe edible portion of the fish, the stalkershould attempt to strike the fish in thehead region, preferably near the rearedge of the gill cover. After the fishceases its struggle it is carefully liftedout of the water (Fig. I) until it can bepushed up the metal gig (describedlater) and the gig point is threadedthrough the loop on the end of thestringer, thus securing the first fish.Fish caught subsequently are simplypushed down the stringer and are heldon by the first fish. By putting fish onthis type of stringer and dragging themalong in the water, most of the fishmay be kept alive during the fishing.

Flounders rely on their protectivecoloration and their ability to remainmotionless on the bottom, partially oralmost totally covered with sand, tocapture food and evade predators.This concealment behavior is exploitedby the stalker, who must simply searchthe bottom for an outline, fragmentaryor complete, of a flounder. The stalkeris aided by the blinding and possiblemesmerizing effect that the artificiallight has on the fish, as suggested byZnamierowska-Priiffer (1966).

Stringrays are occasionally en­countered in the surf zone while search­ing for flounders. Virtually all of theserays are small and not aggressive andwill very often swim away when thefisherman approaches. A few, how­ever, do not and the fisherman shouldbe alert.

Figure 4.-Dlagram 01 underwater light assembly.

Several days of moderate offshorewinds are usually necessary to reducethe surf after a period of onshore (fromocean to land) winds. The fishermancontemplating a flounder gigging excur­sion should check the wind direction,speed, and duration as a clue to thecondition of the surf or, if possible,make a trip to the beach to inspectwave conditions.

Water visibility usually increasesas a result of the surf being calmed byoffshore winds. Occasionally, how­ever, water visibility may not begood even after a day or two of offshorewinds because of the large amount ofsuspended material in the water (re­ferred to as "thick" water). Also,strong winds from any direction mayproduce surface ripples and spraythat hinder visibility.

Moon Phase

All other conditions being equal,stalking flounder is more successful onnights when there is little moonlight.New moon phase and cloudy nightswill probably result in better fishing,but the fisherman should not foregofishing on moonlit nights if the othermore important conditions describedabove are favorable. Flounder areapparently more light-adapted onmoonlit nights and seem to swim aboutmore. Those that are on the bottom willsometimes flee from the fisherman'slight and motion. Floyd (1966) recom­mends that if gigging is done on moon­lit nights the fisherman should movein the direction of the moon to preventcasting a shadow over the search area.

SPECIES CAUGHT

The predominant flounder gigged inthe ocean surf in North Carolina belowCape Lookout is the southern flounder(Paralichthys lethostigma). The aver­age size of individuals gigged is lessthan 3 pounds with limits of about0.5 to 14 pounds. Smaller individuals(less than 2 pounds) are caught morefrequently in the early part of the fallwhile larger ones are more abundantnear the end of the fall season. Curi­ously, the catch of this species in theocean surf is virtually all females. Ofthe 46 sexually mature flounder ex­amined by the author in October andNovember of 1974, all were females.Males may be offshore in deeper water.

The summer flounder (Paralichthysdentatus) is gigged occasionally inthe ocean surf during the late fall. Thepounds of this species caught is prob­ably less than one percent of the totalcatch of all flounders gigged in thesurf. During the fall of 1974 the authorcaught two small summer flounders(I pound each) in a total catch ofabout 300 pounds of flounders. Win­dowpane flounders (Scophthalmusaquosus) may also be seen in the oceansurf but, owing to their small size(about Y3 pound maximum), are seldomgigged.

FISHING IMPLEMENTS

The equipment required for giggingflounder in the ocean surf zone is sim­ple and relatively inexpensive. Theessential gear consists of a gig and anartificial light.

The Gig

The gig or spear is a hand-heldimplement that is used for stabbingthe fish. A simple, useful design (Fig.3a) is a 3.5- to 5-foot metal rod of eithersteel or aluminum sharpened to apoint on one end. The point is oftenfashioned with a barb and the oppositeend of the rod has a hole drilled forattaching a fish stringer of Y1l-inchtwine of nylon or other syntheticmaterial. The rod should have adiameter large enough (about }a-inch)so that it can be grasped firmly and be

HANDLE!

C~BAnERY

durable enough to withstand the strug­gles of a large fish but yet small enough(in diameter) so that the fish is notunduly marred or the rod too heavyand unwieldy. Ready-made gigs ofaluminum or steel can be purchased forseveral dollars at fishing supply stores.Home-made gigs can be made fromnearly any available metal rod; espe­cially suitable are concrete reinforc­ing rods which can be cut to the pre­ferred length.

Also in common use are the com­mercially available single and multi­prong gig points pre-welded to asocket which can be affixed to a woodshaft (Fig. 3b) of any desirable qualityand length. These gigs are lighter weightthan those made entirely of steel andcan be used in deeper water but havethe distinct disadvantage of not alsoserving as a fish stringer. The multi­prong gigs will also unduly damagethe fish.

The Light

The purpose of the light is to provideillumination of the bottom so thatflounders may be seen by the stalker.The most efficient lighting of the bot­tom is by means of a waterproof under­water light powered by a conventionallead-acid battery. Gasoline lanternsare not recommended for use in the surfbecause saltwater splash will oftencrack the glass globe of the lantern whenin use.

\

EFLECTORGLASS GLOBE

BASi /

NUT~ \ \SOCKET"" - LIGHT BULB

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A simple and relatively inexpen­sive underwater light (Fig. 4) can beconstructed from materials available atmany hardware or marine supplystores. A 4- or 5-foot section of :xI­inch diameter metal or polyvinylchloride pipe is used as the shaft orhandle. The pipe is threaded on theoutside of one end for about I-inch. Anut is tightened on the threaded endand a reflector, made of a heavy dutypie pan with a hole drilled in the cen­ter, is slipped on the pipe and the basetightened down to hold the reflectorsecure. The 14- or 16-gauge insulatedelectrical cord is pushed through thehandle and the stripped conductor endsare attached to the socket terminals inthe base of a vapor-proof interiormarine light fixture. A 6- or 12-volt,50- to 100-watt light bulb is then put inthe socket and the heavy duty clearglass globe is screwed into the base.Silicone rubber caulking compound isapplied to all joints to keep the assem­bly watertight. The opposite end ofthe handle can be wrapped with plasticinsulation tape and also coated with thecaulking compound. When it is neces­sary to repair the light the dried caulk­ing compound can be removed with aknife. Finally, large battery pinch-

clips are attached to each of the twowire terminals.

Underwater light assemblies resem­bling the one described above canbe purchased in some fishing equip­ment stores for about a SO percenthigher cost than the above custommodel can be made.

The power source for the under­water light is a conventional lead-acidbattery; standard automotive, motor­cycle, or tractor batteries are used.The voltage of the battery and lightbulb must correspond. The batteryshould be selected for its compactnessand weight since it is often carried bythe fisherman during the fishingoperation. The battery chosen shouldprovide at least 2 hours of peak light­ing for the wattage bulb used. Thebattery should be kept fully chargedbetween fishing trips and seasons.

A side or back-pack of canvas,nylon, or other durable fabric is usedto carry the battery during fishing.Military surplus knap-sacks or hikingback-packs are very suitable. Thebattery may first be placed in a heavyplastic bag then put into the carryingpack. It is desirable that the battery bekept as dryas possible and a top flapon the pack will ensure that saltwater

splash is kept off the battery. Thebattery should be kept upright duringfishing to prevent accidental acid spill.

Some fishermen prefer to carry theirbattery in either a #2 or #3 galvanizedtub or a 20-gallon garbage can buoyedup with an automobile tire inner tube.While this portage may be easier thancarrying a battery it does not allow themobility of the back-pack method,and requires two persons to steady thefloat in the surf and to handle the gearwhen fish are caught and strung.

The fishing gear described herein isrelatively simple and inexpensive toconstruct or purchase. The value of thecatch to the sportsman from severalsuccessful nights of gigging can morethan equal the modest cost of the equip­ment. I t is not unusual for a personstalking alone in the surf to catch morethan SO pounds of flounder on a suc­cessful night.

LITERATURE CITEDFloyd, H. M. 1966. Commercial flounder gigging.

U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Fish. Leafl. 586, 5 p.Ginsburg, t. 1952. Flounders of the genus Para­

Iich,hys and related genera in American waters.U.S. Fish Wild I. Serv., Fish. Bull. 52:267-351.

Znamierowska-Priiffer, Maria. 1966. Thrustingimplements for fishing in Poland and neigh­boring countries. (Transl. from Polish.) Sci.Publ. Foreign Coop. Center Central Inst.Sci. Tech. Econ. Inf.. Warsaw, Poland, 536 p.

MFR Paper 1159. From Marine Fisheries Review. Vol. 37, No.9, Septem­ber 1975. Copies of this paper. in limited numbers, are available fromD83, Technical Information Division. Environmental Science Informa­tion Center, NOAA, Washington, DC 20235. Copies of Marine FisheriesRevieware available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Govern­ment Printing OffiqS, Washington. DC 20402 for $1.10 each.

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