Nighttime flounder hunting with Capt. Lawton Mattson
By Ford Walpole
In its most basic form, flounder gigging involves hunting for flounder at night and harvesting the fish with a fork attached to a long pole. This sport historically was referred to as graining by Lowcountry old-timers, such as Capt. Lawton Mattson’s grandfather, who introduced him to the nocturnal activity. “I can barely remember that first trip,” Mattson says. “We went in my grandfather’s jon boat from his property on Yonges Island; he used Coleman lanterns to light up the banks and look for fish,” he recalls.
A few years later, Mattson’s father bought the boy his first jon boat, an old Sears v-hull aluminum boat powered by a 15-horsepower Evinrude. “When we went flounder gigging, we used headlamps and hand-held Q-Beam spotlights, and we stood on the bench seats and looked for fish. We eased sideways down the bank, and after five or six trips, we figured it out. I really got heavy into flounder gigging during my senior year of high school,” he recalls. Mattson was on a boat near McClellanville when a friend stuck a 33-inch flounder, still the largest one he has ever seen.
Back then regulations permitted anglers to gig flounder at least 14 inches long and the limit was 15 fish per person (with a maximum of 30 fish per boat). Nowadays, flounder populations have seen a decline in recent years and the regulations have been adjusted accordingly: a maximum of five fish per person greater than 16 inches in length (or 10 fish per boat) may be harvested.
Mattson has been running boats and working as a professional fishing guide since the the of age 18. His business, Fish and Fossil Charleston, includes diverse outdoors experiences. Most clients arrive expecting to harvest shells and shark’s teeth but are pleasantly surprised to also uncover Native American arrowheads and pottery as well as Civil War artifacts — some of the most notable finds in the latter category have included buttons, spoons, 50-caliber musket rounds and even a cannonball.
From his 27-foot Rambo, Capt. Lawton works inshore and nearshore waters. In addition, he is one of only a few Charleston guides who offers flounder-gigging trips. For this endeavor, he recently purchased a 20-foot Lowcountry aluminum boat powered by a 115-horse Mercury. This roomy and stable craft is outfitted with a bow-platform and 16 10-inch bars of LED lights, illuminated by a Craftsman generator.
When gigging with Capt. Lawton, you will be issued a custom gig from Midnight Moon Outfitters to wield. The five-prong stainless steel fork is attached to a lightweight fiberglass pole equipped with comfortable neon grips and reflective tape. “It’s a step up from your grandpa’s cane pole!” Mattson laughs. “For clients, I use a four or five prong fork, but personally I like a two-prong fork, which adds an element of challenge, and also preserves the meat.” Capt. Lawton employs a trolling motor “to go down the flat” and with which “you can motor right up on the fish.” The cushioned AquaDeck of his platform provides traction and eases fatigue. He also plans to mount small seats on the bow.
According to Capt. Lawton, flounder “are mostly offshore during the winter, when the water temperature is cold.” The fish head inshore “as the water gets warmer and the bait starts showing up. They start getting shallower and further up the river systems. You can absolutely hang a flounder in the upper Cooper River, along the brackish and freshwater line.” A flounder’s favorite food includes “finger-mullet and shrimp. It’s a toss-up — they also love mud minnows,” Mattson says.
Flounder gigging is hard work, and most guides are not interested in working at night. Besides his love for the sport, Mattson likewise realized an untapped market in guiding flounder-gigging trips. “We usually work the area around Charleston Harbor,” he says. “My ideal trip is when we have a dead-low tide at 9:00 p.m. We will leave at dead low and we might make a 100-yard run or sometimes we may go five or six miles up the river,” he says.
As for the ideal conditions, Capt. Lawton offers a bit of advice: “You want the water coming in off the ocean — it will be greener and clearer. Once it starts coming in, within 30 minutes, the fish seem to know it, and they are going to start easing up on the flats. On a good night, you can see them in one to two inches of water and up to five feet deep; sometimes, you can even see them in eight feet of water — depending on water clarity.”
When pursuing flounder at night, “I am always looking for the silhouette of a flounder, and the eyeballs, which will pop out of the water. Sometimes, they are covered up really well, and other times they’re sticking out like a sore thumb. If the fish is buried in the mud, you’ll still see the outline and the jaw and that eye, ready to pounce on the bait,” Mattson explains.
Because the gigging fork effectively dispatches the fish, this sport does not allow for catch and release, so anglers must be especially careful to practice proper conservation techniques. Some use separate measuring sticks to determine whether flounder are legal-sized; others weld bars horizontally on either side of the fork to eyeball the size the fish. Capt. Lawton offers the carpenter’s age-old: “Measure twice, and cut, or stick once!”
Furthermore, he does not use measuring sticks, because “if I am ever in doubt as to whether it is big enough, then we are passing on that fish. If I think it’s close, we’re just going to keep on going. I also try to talk clients out of sticking the smaller fish, even if they are legal,” Mattson says.
“No flounder goes by me that I won’t approach and ease them out with the gig,” Mattson adds. “I just like to interact with the fish and educate them to get out of the way the next time they see lights. I’ll gently nudge them out of the way. My clients get to see the fish and how it is moving. I just like to see and watch them; flounder are really cool creatures, especially because they swim flat,” he says.
“We are going to find the bigger fish after we pass on those smaller ones,” Mattson declares, pointing out that he frequently limits out on flounder-gigging charters. Large flounder are known as “doormats” — a distinction Capt. Lawton does not designate lightly. “For me, a flounder does not really qualify as a doormat unless it’s 27 inches long. If it’s 23 or 24 inches, I call it a nice slab,” he says.
Sometimes, to stick slabs and doormats, “We can wait an hour and a half into the incoming tide, when the bigger fish start to move in. From that point on, the clock is ticking, since the water starts rising quickly. As the water gets up, I know the areas that hold the fish on the higher tides. After three hours the water is in the grass, so I typically go to big rock ledges,” he says.
As for location, flounder are typically found on mud flats during low tide, though not always. “If you’re finding them in shell, then keep hunting the shell,” Capt. Lawton advises. “If not, try a sandier shell bank or a muddy bank or a live oyster bank. You can’t stick flounder if they aren’t where you are. I have seen them laying up in some really awkward spots.”
Capt. Lawton reflects on the rewards of guiding flounder-gigging. “I have always enjoyed it thoroughly, and I love introducing people to new experiences. Most clients have either never been, or they are bringing children on their first time gigging for flounder. My favorite thing about a flounder trip with clients is getting pictures of their flounder dinners they are eating the next night!” A number of local restaurants offer “hook and cook”; that is, they clean and prepare fish brought in by customers.
“Another thing I love about flounder gigging is everything else you’ll encounter when you go,” Mattson adds. “Most people have been on a boat during the day but wait until you see the marsh at night under the lights; it’s another entirely different ecosystem!” he says. “We have seen loggerhead turtles. Just the other night, we saw a juvenile loggerhead turtle nose-to-nose with a nice flounder. We also see squid, shrimp, and crabs — stone crabs, blue crabs, ghost crabs, and fiddlers. Mullet are especially active at night. We might see pinfish, mud minnows, eels, croakers, spot-tails and sheepshead. Sometimes bonnethead sharks will roll up beside you.”
Although Capt. Lawton is a professional fishing guide, what began with his grandfather remains a family affair. When he is not flounder gigging with clients, he can often be found accompanied by his significant other, Kristin Gardner, who is also completely hooked on flounder gigging, even if she does have to get up early the next morning to go to work. Kristin’s daughter Eliza “absolutely loves going gigging, too!” Sometimes Kristin assists Lawton on charters, working as first mate and taking photographs and videos.
To arrange a flounder gigging trip with Fish and Fossil Charleston, give Capt. Lawton Mattson a call at (843) 597-3974, or e-mail Capt.lawton@yahoo.com. For more details, be sure to check out https://fishandfossilcharleston.com/.
Ford Walpole lives and writes on John’s Island and is the author of many articles on the outdoors. He teaches English at James Island Charter High School and the College of Charleston and may be reached at fordwalpole@gmail.com.
Comments