Some Nice Fluke Down South by Ed Valitutto

Posted on June 19, 2023 by VHFC

My neighbor Chris has an 18′ skiff and asked me to join him for a Father’s Day short morning outing down south. We headed down to Tuckerton Creek and began our initial drifts with the west wind against the incoming tide. Chris quickly landed a nice 19″ fluke but then the action totally died. At least the brisk winds kept any bugs at bay!

We went out Marshelder channel and headed north up the ICW to where the Middle Grounds channel intersects the ICW at the LE buoy. The west wind pushed us across the channel towards the sod banks. Water depth varied from 10 to 6 feet as we neared the banks. Several drifts later Chris had another 19″ fluke and I had two shorts.

We decided to end our short day with a final drift up by the deep hole near the marina entrance where I hooked a nice just under 19′ fluke. Fortunately, it was hooked cleanly in the lower jaw and was quickly released. Oh well, I will be back next week looking for him!

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