By Kim J. Harmon

Depending on who you believe – the Maryland Department of Natural Resources or the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries – the largest flounder, or “fluke,” ever caught was either 26 or 30 pounds.

Those may make the 11-pound, 2-ounce flounder hauled in by Junie Ingram, Bud Holland and Joe Lanoutt last week seem like a baby, but it may still be a record catch in regards to the type of bait the three friends used off the coast of Block Island.

Pheasant.

Now, flounder is not the most eye-catching fish in the ocean. A member of the family, Paralichthyidae, the left-eyed flatfish has both eyes on the left side of its body when viewed from above with the dorsal, or top fin, up. The eyed side of this fish is scattered with 10 to 14 eye-like spots which blend in with the ocean floor, while its belly or underside is white. It is a bottom-dwelling fish which use its flattened shape and ability to change coloration and pattern on the eyed side of their bodies to partially burrow in the sediment, lie in ambush and wait for their prey.

The average size of an adult flounder, or “fluke,” is two to five pounds in weight and 17 to 25 inches in length.

When fishing for flounder, most fishermen will used strips of frozen squid or strips of meat from another fluke or bluefish as bait and – to be honest – Ingram, Holland and Lanoutt intended to use frozen squid but, hey, at four or five in the morning, in a hurry and still groggy for waking up so gosh darned early in the morning, mistakes can be made.

Lanoutt reached into his freezer that morning for the frozen squid he had stored but, instead, pulled out a frozen pheasant breast.

They didn’t realize the mistake until they were in the water and there was nothing to do but use it.

“What the heck,” said Ingram, “we didn’t have any other bait. So we dropped it in and – boom – there it was.”

The pheasant breast helped the three men haul in several other flounder. According to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries, “the white, flaky meat of the summer flounder is highly rated due to its delicate flavor and texture. This versatile fish provides delightful dining when steamed, poached, baked, broiled, sautéed, fried or microwaved.”

And whichever way they chose to cook up their catch, an 11-pound fish can provide a lot of good eatin’.