Nelson casts to the edge of the shells and slowly crawls his bait back down the side of the bar, through the sand, prospecting for a flounder. Sometimes, a redfish takes care of the bait; sometimes, it's a flounder.

As far as rigs and bait are concerned, Nelson doesn't make very many changes from spot to spot, from deep hole to side channel to oyster bar. His stock in trade is what freshwater fishermen call a "Carolina rig."

It's a simple rig to build and fish. You slide an egg sinker onto the line that runs to your rod and reel, then tie to a barrel swivel. To the other end of the swivel, tie on a leader of about 18 inches, then tie on your hook. The egg sinker stays in contact with the bottom at all times as it is dragged along, but the bait is able to ride up a few inches off the bottom -- in perfect view of any predator fish.

"A Carolina rig is about all I ever use; I use it 99 percent of the time," Nelson said. "It keeps everything simple. I usually have 12-pound-test on my reel, and my leader will be about 18 inches long and be of 20- to 25-pound-test fluorocarbon. Then I'll tie on a wide-bend hook, the size depending on what size minnow you're using.

"I'll go all the way down to a No. 4 on a real small mud minnow, and all the way up to 1/0 or 2/0 on big mullet minnows or menhaden," Nelson said. "Depending on the current, I'll use a weight anywhere from 3/4 of an ounce to 2 ounces."

Bait changes with availability. Early in the year, Nelson will set minnow traps in creeks and catch a lot of 2- to 3-inch-long mud minnows. Then in the early summer, mullet minnows, the 4- and 5-inch baits that Nelson really prefers, show up.

The main thing that the size of the bait changes is how long Nelson waits after he feels a flounder bite before he sets the hook. Flounder are legendary for the "patience" with which they strike and swallow a bait. Many fishermen set the hook too soon before the fish has had a chance to move the bait back into its gullet.

"When you figure it out, you've got it figured out," Nelson said. "A flounder will tap-tap on a minnow. All he's doing is grabbing it, then he's going roll it around (in his mouth), suck the tail off, scale it. Then, you break his jaw."

Nelson said that in the spring or early summer, when he's using small mud minnows, he gives a flounder maybe five to 10 seconds to ingest the little bait before he sets the hook. Later in the year, when he's using bigger baits, he'll give them anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes. It's a talent that's partly acquired through experience.

"I'll start fishing for flounder in the spring, when I'm finished trout fishing, and flounder fishing will stay good all the way through the fall in the creeks and rivers," Nelson said.