Even though you’ll be fishing in shallower water, with many smaller flounder being caught, don’t forget to bring along a wide-mouthed net. You’ll need it when a hefty summer flattie jumps on your bait. Photo by Nick Honachefsky.

Here’s the real skinny on flatfish. Fluke anglers up and down the Eastern Seaboard can probably claim that they are flat-out the most dedicated to their fare in the realm of saltwater angling.

Possibly no other summertime fishery brings more people out onto the brine to put a summer flounder or two into the frying pan. And with the way these flatfish fight and taste, who can blame them?

New Jersey boasts hundreds of miles of pristine backwaters with myriad sod banks and sedge islands, as well as larger tidal bays that combine to make up an endless playground for fluke fanatics.

And the payoff is often spectacular. The key to flatfish success is to know the ins and outs of the back bays, and how to fish them effectively.

THE SEASON
May through October spells the prime time season for Jersey backwater fluke, and a seasonal pattern definitely emerges. (Our manmade season runs from May 26 to Sept. 10 this year.)

Come springtime, late April and early May signal the fluke to migrate into the back estuaries to spawn out, meaning a large selection of doormats move into the shallows.

With water temps in the low 50s at that time of the year, theory dictates that anglers should note that flatties need that spark of warmness to elevate their body temperatures. Hence, they find ever-shallower environments -- “skinny water,” if you will -- to sun themselves.

These fish will lie on low-cut flats and shallow banks of backchannels and sod banks. But once summertime rolls into play and water temps reach the mid-60s and beyond during the heat of summer in July and August, wily flatfish know its time to cool off.

That’s when they hunker down inside those deep channels and deep cuts off underwater sandbars and overhanging sod banks. And that’s where you’ll find them right now.

CHANNEL TACTICS
Channels and the surrounding flats are where you’ll find most of your back-bay flatties, and certain strategies can help you maximize your catches.

I’ve found that bucktail jigs are some of the most lucrative offerings by far in back-bay areas.

For maximum efficiency, 3/8- to 3/4-ounce bucktails should be tied to a leader with a loop knot to allow the proper undulating motion of the bucktail’s fine hairs to work its magic. The most efficient and effective rig is a 40-pound SPRO barrel swivel tied to a 36-inch section of 20-pound fluorocarbon leader, with the bucktail on the end.

A dropper loop is then tied 18 inches down from the barrel swivel onto a size 2/0 Gamakatsu Octopus-style hook, with a white or chartreuse bucktail hair teaser looped on.

Another back-bay offering that seems to put the flatfish on the bite is the simple shad dart and spearing combination.

Simple, quick twitches of the bucktail, sporadic and quirky -- and lifted not more than 6 inches off the bottom -- will attract fluke to bite.

Always maintain the lightest bucktail possible to allow you to hold ground while on a drift.

You can always drop the bucktail back to entice a strike.

Tip the bucktail with a fresh or salted-down herring, mackerel, hickory shad, bunker, bluefish, sea robin or dogfish strip. On the 2/0 dropper hook, place a 3- to 4-inch strip as well.

Another back-bay offering that seems to put the flatfish on the bite is the simple shad dart and spearing combination. Shad darts in plated silver or gold, and in the 1/4- to 3/4- ounce sizes, are simply tipped with two spearing, which are hooked through the eye sockets.

The dart is cast out and worked in a similar style to a bucktail. But pay more attention to keeping the dart close to the bottom while allowing it to drag over the sand. You do this with quick twitches of your rod tip in order to stir up some sand and to make the spearing dance on the bottom.