Often confused with sole, flounders change colour quickly to suit their environment and are taken by spearing and with very light tackle as they sit on sandy bottoms and muddy inshore areas feeding on worms, crustaceans and small shellfish. The three most commonly encountered species in Victoria include the long-snouted flounder, greenback flounder and small-toothed flounder. This awkward-looking fish begins life with an eye on each side of its head until one eye migrates across the snout to the right and the fish becomes bottom living.
Flounders swim with both eyes upwards and, in Australia, seldom exceed about 38cm in length and 0.6kg.

SIZE: The greenback flounder is one of the largest and most abundant in Victorian waters, reaching 38cm and 0.6kg. The long-snouted flounder grows to around 34cm.

WHERE: Sandy, muddy and silty bottoms in bays and estuaries around the coast, all depths down to 100 metres. Juveniles can sometimes be found upstream in fresh water.

TACKLE: Flounder succumb easily to spotlight spear fishing on a dark night. Boat drifting techniques similar to those used for flathead can also produce results with 6-8kg line, a 1-metre 2-4kg leader below a running sinker, and long shank hook size of No.4 or No.6.

BAIT: Small pieces of peeled prawn, sand worms, whitebait, squid.

EATING: Highly-valued table fish with delicate flavour.