Closest flounder fishing to DC?

[Andrew Sarcinello]

Looking for somewhere that I could possibly do a day trip for flatfish on the fly. Anywhere with a boat rental is a huge plus, if wading is not possible. I guess at some point downriver you can find them in the tidal Potomac - anyone have any idea how far I'd have to go?

Appreciate any feedback!! Thanks.

[Ashley Frohwein]

I imagine you'd probably need to head to NC, but I'm not sure.

Have you caught flounder on the fly before? I find them to be by far the most boring saltwater fish to catch.

[Andrew Sarcinello]

Yeah I've caught 2 before. I am just wanting to get after something different than usual. I did some google searching and found out they are common around st. georges island on the Potomac. I'm gonna look for some flats near dropoffs and just toss clousers around. Figure I'll probably run into small stripers and white perch occasionally, if no flounder.

[HeaveToo]

St. George's Point is at the mouth of the St. Mary's river.  In that area there is a lot of shallow water.  Most of that shallow water is occupied by crab pots. 

Another place that isn't too far from there is Smith Creek.  There are a few launch points there and you could fish the channel edge coming into Smith Creek. 

Another possibility is to go to Point Lookout State park.  They have a launch ramp there.  You could fish the channel coming in there.  There is structure, rocks, and there is current.  You could easily fish it from a kayak.  That would be a great location to try for flounder (sandy bottom, channel, and current) and I bet it holds Stripers.  It is close to the Bay so it would hold bluefish and other species as well.

[Andrew Sarcinello]

Thanks! Smith Creek looks neat. Flats and dropoffs, and I found a rental place. Point lookout also looks really good but their Twitter feed on their web page shows that they have been having to close the park due to it reaching capacity. I think I'll avoid the crowds and check out Smith Creek

[Andrew Sarcinello]

Another thing I'm interested in targeting is puppy (aka red) drum. They are great fighters even as "small" 20-24" fish. A real handful even on an 8 wt. Sounds like they come up to about the same areas as flounder

[Charlie Church]

This year has not been a great year for pups. 

In years past, I have heard them going all the way up to Maryland. If I were you, I'd also look at the Maryland side of the bay on the eastern shore. 

I have never fished over there but I have heard good things about the Tangier island area.

[John Smith]

The Point Lookout area and Smith Creek (Kitts Point) are good choices for flounder when they are in. I would wait a bit until late August or September. Smith Creek has a boat ramp and is great for small boats. Point Lookout near the causeway facing the bay side is good for flounder and other species. Here is a picture of a flounder caught not too far from the causeway last September on a chartreuse and white half and half. Oh, dont overlook specks in both of these spots later in the year. Right now, mostly white perch in the creeks and schoolie rockfish around. I also have heard that there are a few 10-12 inch reds around this year which hopefully will translate to a good fishery in 2018 if the hard winters stay away.

On Friday, June 24, 2016 at 8:54:29 AM UTC-4, Andrew Sarcinello wrote:

[HeaveToo]

I am extremely familiar with that area. 

You can use the boat ramp and the area near that would be great fishing.

If the weather is settled and you find access you could fish point lookout.  There is a bit of current there.  Point lookout extends way out and it has current from two different places and sand.  It would be a great place to fish.

The reason I am familiar with this area as I have sailed through it hundreds of times.  I have anchored overnight at Point Lookout State Park and seen, first hand, the area.  I am thinking that it would be a great place to fly fish.  I have seen dolphins in Smith Creek and the scenery is beautiful.

If you have a boat and you want some really interesting and remote fishing you should try to get over to Smith Island.  I have flyfished there and it is incredible.  Plenty of current and good areas to fish.  Plenty of flats as well are in that area.  I keep meaning to sail back over there and spend some time fishing it.  I caught a lot of stripers there and I am sure that there are flounder, puppy drum, trout, etc.

[Andrew Sarcinello]

Charlie, John, HT - great info, many thanks! I'll try to check out both locations. Smith island looks fantastic if I can figure out logistics. So much water and so little time...

[Dave Stephenson]

Not really day a trip but Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlets in Virginia Beach have some great mixed bag fishing for flounder, puppy drum, blues, speckled trout, "grey trout", and stripers. Throw in a few croakers for frying too. Fortunately the best fishing comes after the tourist hatch has died off In September - October. I also liked working the jetties around Ocean View.

[Andrew Sarcinello]

Went to point lookout and Smith Creek today. Didn't do any kayak rentals as a lot of both can be reached on foot. In hindsight, it probably would have helped, as I caught nothing but a foul hooked crab. At one point I saw wave after wave of glass minnows go swimming up a channel and nothing touched them. Kinda took the hint then that it wasn't gonna pan out. Didn't see a fish over 6" all day.

I definitely see the potential of that place though. Point Lookout especially has a wide variety of water that you can reach without a boat. Today the Patuxent side was getting whipped by the wind and was churned up with no visibility. Potomac side was better. Smith Creek was somewhere in between. I caught Smith Creek at low tide which didn't help anything.

[Andrew Sarcinello]

Thanks for the help guys. Dave I will keep that in mind if I find myself in that area