Lancaster County father and son win $110,000 for first-place fish at flounder tournament

• By Nathan Willison / LNP | LancasterOnline

Jake Fleischut, a 16-year-old from Colerain Township, has been fishing with his father, Jeff Fleischut Jr., for as long as he can remember.

Whether it’s heading out on a boat off the coast of Nantucket or taking the short drive down to the Octorara Reservoir for bass, fishing is tradition for the Fleischut family.

“My grandfather fished, and my dad fished, and as soon as he (Jake) was old enough he would come along with us,” Jeff Fleischut Jr. said.

That tradition paid off last week, when the Fleischut’s won $110,000 for winning first place at the Flounder Pounder Open in Long Neck, Delaware. The annual open is the largest founder tournament in the world, according to event organizers, and features more than 370 boats and 2,200 anglers.

The Flounder Pounder Open is a marathon of a fishing tournament, lasting five days. Competitors are allowed to fish for three of those days and allowed to fish anywhere in a 50-mile radius from Long Neck.

This was Fleischuts’ third year in the tournament. In 2024, the father-and-son duo landed in 15th place, winning $5,000 overall.

Jeff Fleischut said fishing tournaments like the Flounder Pounder Open is where his son gets competitive.

“At school, they beg him (Jake) to play football or wrestle, but fishing is his thing,” Jeff Fleischut said.

On the second day of the tournament, the Fleischuts’ day started early. They headed out on their boat, One More Drift, captained by Jeff Fleischut along with a few other anglers, and headed toward artificial reefs off the coast of Delaware where flounders can typically be found.

By midmorning, Jake had a fish hooked and knew it could be a winner.

“As soon as I hooked it, my rod went straight down,” Jake Fleischut said. “I couldn’t get the fish off the bottom for a little bit. I knew this thing was pretty freaking huge.”

It took them just a few minutes to wrangle the fish into the boat, but Jake Fleischuts said it felt much longer as he reeled the fish in.

As the massive flounder flopped around the boat, the Fleischuts and the rest of their team struggled to measure it. Officially, it would measure an impressive 28½ inches and weigh 9.6 pounds. It would end up the largest fish caught over the course of the five-day tournament.

Jeff Fleischut said they knew it could be a winner as soon as they caught it but had to wait three additional days for it to become official.

“We were stressing out every day, biting our nails, just waiting to see if we’d get knocked out of first place,” Jeff Fleischut said.

For Jake Fleischut, winning the tournament means he gets to be on equal footing with a community of professional anglers

“It’s cool knowing that when you go out there, you’re fishing with the best of the best,” Jake said. “And knowing that you have a chance to beat them at their own game — I don’t know how to describe it.”

Jeff Fleischut said the tournament win is a testament to his son’s work ethic. When he’s not fishing, Jake is spending time on his schoolwork and working at a farm near Kirkwood. After he graduates Jake wants to start in agriculture.

The Fleischut said they ate the winning fish and the money was split between the Fleischuts and the other anglers on their boat. With his portion of the money, Jake said he is saving up to buy a flat-bottomed johnboat of his own.

“Fishing is always going to be part of my life,” Jake Fleischut said. “It’s not going anywhere.”