The Upper Laguna Madre is an underrated destination, located as it is near Baffin Bay, which for many anglers is the Promised Land of trout fishing. Their neglect doesn’t mean that the Upper Laguna Madre doesn’t offer up some tremendous fishing opportunities. Capt. Don Hand gives Upper Laguna Madre a big thumbs-up as a potential hangout for big flounder during spring.

A surprisingly good method for flounder fishing in the area is to drift the shoreline fishing a live shrimp either freelined or under either an Alameda Rattling Float or a Mansfield Mauler rig. Most of the time this is used for trout, but it can yield quite a few flounder as well. Hand recommends that anglers key in on this area when the water’s is very clear.

The area around the JFK Causeway is a good spot when the flatfish are making their migration in (and out) of the Gulf. A live mud minnow or finger mullet slowly dragged across the bottom is a sure way to hang into one of the area’s saddleblanket-sized fish.

Whether seeking flounder or any other denizen of the Upper Laguna Madre, remember those tides. All tidal movements are not created equal and those in this area deserve special attention. Many anglers complain with some justice about the inaccuracy of printed and televised tide charts, so be mindful of that when you go fishing. Talk to local guides and bait-camp owners before you venture out.

Generally speaking, locating spring flounder is easy. Concentrate your first efforts in the mouths of cuts leading into bays from large marsh systems. Look for cuts that are wide enough and deep enough to flush lots of marsh water on tidal movements. Try the first couple of major points, eddies and the first “S” turn inside tributaries with moving water. Flounder typically haunt the edge line of such areas. Baitfish such as juvenile menhaden, which are not yet strong enough this time of year to fight the currents, tend to rest in the slack water. It’s very important not to overlook this predator/prey relationship during spring. Many anglers make the mistake of looking for larger baitfish like mullet and larger menhaden to find flounder, but that’s not the way to go in the spring. During this time of year, they’re after the menhaden.

Why is that so? Because flounder are opportunists that’ll go after the easiest thing to catch -- and in the spring, that’s menhaden.

Tides dictate the forms of flounder feeding: On a fast-falling tide, the flatfish move in close to the drainage in tight schools; when it’s falling slowly, they might scatter out around the mouth of a specific drainage or up into the marsh. They’ll do the same thing during the first hour or so of an incoming tide; then they will usually move into the cuts.

Another good area to probe for spring flounder extends along the main shorelines of bay systems. Attacking vast shorelines would be a waste of time. You’ll end up in dogged frustration, so you have to have a strategy. Instead of looking over eight miles of shoreline, narrow your search down to an eighth of a mile. You must eliminate water to bag spring flounder successfully.