Sea flounder is an interesting fish that is distinguished by its unusual, bizarrely shaped body. This individual is characterized by an interesting flattened body shape. At the same time, its meat has excellent taste and brings great health benefits. By its flat body it is easy to determine that the fish lives on the bottom. At the same time, not everyone is familiar with its habits and fishing characteristics.
Description
This predatory fish belongs to the Flounder family. It primarily lives in the seas located in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.The fish looks unusual, and this is its main distinguishing feature.
Appearance
The main characteristic feature of the flounder is its bulging eyes, which are located on the right side of the body. For this feature it is often called right-sided. In rare cases, the organ of vision is located on the left or sides.
The left side of the body without eyes is called the blind side. It is covered with dense and tough skin. This provides the fish with protection from enemies and improves movement across sand and rocky terrain.
The characteristic features of sea flounder include the following:
- The body is a flat body that helps the fish that lives at the bottom to hide under a stone or bury itself in the sand. The lateral line is located directly between the eyes. The skin on the right is considered smoother and is capable of changing shade depending on the color of the bottom. This improves camouflage. The left side, which is in contact with the bottom, is characterized by a lighter shade.
- Head - eyes are convex and located quite close. The lateral line, which clearly separates them, makes it possible to perform functions separately. This significantly increases visibility. There are sharp teeth in the mouth. Moreover, it is distinguished by its skewed shape. The operculum is on the left.
- Fins - the tail is shortened, but perfectly performs its tasks. Due to this element, the fish moves quickly. The dorsal fin is elongated and located close to the head. The abdominal elements are located symmetrically. They are distinguished by a narrow base and an abundance of rays. Thanks to this, the predator becomes more dexterous and invulnerable. The upper body is often brown in color. However, it is influenced by a number of factors - the species of flounder and its habitat.
Habitat
Flounder primarily lives in the seas and oceans.From a geographic point of view, its habitat covers the following areas:
- coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea;
- the shores of Scandinavia;
- reservoirs of the Central European continent.
Sea flounder lives in the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. In general, this predator has many varieties and is distinguished by significant boundaries of its habitat. This fish is widespread and not on the verge of extinction.
Lifestyle
Flounder can be either river or sea flounder. In any case, this fish is considered solitary and prefers to lead a bottom lifestyle. Representatives of the family are able to hide, mimicking the surrounding landscape. Most of the time, fish lie on the surface of the water or burrow deep into the sediment. Thanks to the presence of natural camouflage, flounder gets the opportunity to catch prey from ambush and hide from large predators.
Despite its visual slowness and clumsiness, flounder is an excellent swimmer. Such a fish quickly begins to move. At relatively short distances, it is capable of developing quite decent speed.
If required, a flounder can literally shoot its flat body several meters in the required direction. Using the gill cover, it releases a powerful stream of water towards the bottom. While the sand and silt settle, the fish has time to capture prey or hide from a large enemy.
In favorable conditions, the average lifespan of flounder is 30 years. However, in a real environment, fish rarely manage to live to this age. Individuals often die en masse in industrial fishing nets.
Diet
Flounder is considered a predator. Its main diet is considered to be all kinds of worms, mollusks, small fish, and crustaceans. The fish is distinguished by well-developed teeth.Thanks to this, it is able to scour various areas of the water bottom in search of food. In addition, the predator knows how to hide in ambushes, burrowing into the soil right up to its eyes. Sometimes it attacks more protected representatives of marine fauna in separate species. Flounder is characterized by constant movement and search for food.
The sea bottom predator often makes forays to search for accumulations of fresh eggs of other fish species. Flounder destroys spawning sites and quickly eats other people's eggs. She goes hunting mainly at night, because she feels more comfortable in the dark. During the day, the fish likes to burrow into the soil, resting from nocturnal activity.
Fishing Features
Industrial catches are provided by trawl nets. From the description it is known that the fish lives in deep layers. This means that it lives in perfectly clean water and does not accumulate impurities dangerous to people.
In coastal areas, fishermen catch flounder using spinning rods. Such places are predominantly inhabited by young fish. It is recommended to throw gear as far as possible. In this case, the spinning rod should be placed at a significant angle. When using an equipped fishing spot, you should take advantage of the comfortable sides. You can also catch flounder from the shore. In this case, it is most convenient to use a tripod.
This fish bites quite unusually. She can take prey and remain motionless for some time. When casting a fishing rod far away, it is easy to miss a flounder because the fisherman simply does not notice the bite.
The following types of bait should be used as bait:
- shrimps;
- bulls;
- anchovies;
- mussels;
- squid;
- worms
Experienced anglers throw jigs and large sinking wobblers.If you have a motor boat, you should use a vertical lure. Fishing on a boat is much easier because it is easier to follow and hook fish.
To catch flounder, you should use a fishing line with a diameter of at least 0.4 millimeters. You will also need a durable reel that allows you to cast line 150 meters. The weight of the sinker must be at least 60 grams. At the same time, when choosing hooks, you should give preference to numbers from 6 to 10. Due to the large number of waves in the seas, underwater currents often appear.
The fish needs to be hooked quickly and confidently. In this case, not the slightest delay should be allowed. Sometimes the prey actively resists. It is important to be prepared for this. In this case, you should not rush to pull the prey towards you. It's worth tiring her out a little. Because flounder swallow bait deeply, a hook or extractor may be necessary.
Flounder in cooking
This fish spoils quickly. Therefore, it is recommended to defrost it immediately before cooking. After this, you need to remove the head, if the carcass is whole, and cut off the fins. A more practical option is to buy gutted fish without a head.
The fish is characterized by soft and tender meat, which has a slightly sweet taste. Therefore, it is recommended to use simple methods for its preparation. This will make it possible to preserve taste and aroma.
The easiest way is to fry flounder. To do this, take a prepared carcass or fillet, roll it in flour with spices and fry on both sides in a frying pan. In this case, it is worth using a mixture of vegetable and butter. However, it is important to consider that this method of preparation significantly increases the calorie content of the product.As a side dish for fried flounder, you should serve potatoes, vegetable stew or rice.
An excellent option would be baked flounder. If the carcass is large in size, it is recommended to cut it into portions. To give the product a rich and expressive taste, add butter when baking. Fish prepared in this way is in harmony with citrus fruits and herbs. To make the process of cooking flounder faster, you should buy a pre-marinated carcass.
It is recommended to use dried flounder as an appetizer or snack. This fish has a rich aroma and looks very appetizing.
Interesting Facts
Flounder is an unusual fish with many interesting facts associated with it:
- In 1980, they managed to catch a flounder 2 meters long and weighing 105 kilograms. This happened in Alaska.
- The flounder is the only fish that oceanographer Jacques Piccard saw in the Mariana Trench.
- The upper part of the fish's body includes a special pigment. Due to this, it is able to change color and adapt to any soil.
- Only sighted species of flounder are capable of camouflage. Blind fish do not have this ability.
Sea flounder is an interesting fish that has an unusual appearance. In addition, it is distinguished by tasty meat, which brings health benefits.
