Our back creek fishing crew started the tournament season fishing the Slack Tide Brewery’s summer flounder tournament.We also fished Fred’s Tavern’s that occurred on the same day. It rained most of the day, and we forgot the rain gear. It was cold, wet, and not enjoyable. Coupled with bad fishing conditions, wind direction, and water clarity. The challenge of the day was finding fishable water. We did find a small area that held fish. It was a grind, but by the end of the day, we caught enough keepers to cover all of the tournament categories, including Justin’s 23.25″. Which weighed in at Slack Tide Brewery’s scale at 4.95lbs and held for second place $. We did not allow enough time to make both weigh-ins. Nobody cared, as we just wanted to get dry and warm up. I was actually shivering at this point. This came with a cost, as we would have taken first place in Fred’s Tavern tournament.
Up next was Top-Notch Grassy Sound Marina’s Back Bay flounder tournament. This year (2025), we gambled on a northern spot that held fish a week before the tournament. When you fish in .tournaments, a game plan is critical. We used information in our plan that was gathered under different conditions. The fishing had been so good before the weather, we had to take a chance, even knowing better. We did catch fish, but not in that spot, and no tournament contenders. We at least had fish to weigh in, but fell short of the winners’ circle this year. We did capture the priceless memories of a good time spent with friends and family! Still, it does make for a better experience if you win. The prior two years at Grassy Sound:
For those interested in learning more about catching flounder in the Back Bay sounds of Cape May co., NJ. Check out this article I wrote for On The Water magazine :