Catch More Flounder This Season

CATCH MORE FLONDER NOW!

If there is one fish that every inshore fisherman targets then it must be the ever so tasty, flounder. This species is on every menu in every seafood restaurant and rightly so because it may be the most delicious fish there is. I would rank it number two right below Grouper. The difference with those two species is that most us can’t go offshore very often and catch grouper, but we can all sit on a skiff, kayak, paddleboard, or go to our nearest dock and catch a flounder. That is what makes the flounder so popular, it is accessible to anybody that is fishing in saltwater. The problem is that they are not as easy to fool as you might expect.

Here are some insights, tips and tricks that we will share with you and we hope they help you catch more fish. Keep in mind that these tips are geared for inshore or nearshore flounder (not fluke). I know that up north they fish completely different for these fish and these tips probably wont work there. Our lives are spent fishing the southern states and that is our “wheelhouse”, sorry to the folks above NC.

Here we go…

-Remember that flounder are the laziest fish when it comes to eating. They lay on the bottom and wait for bait to come to them and ambush it when it comes by. They will not swim around to find food. We all may know someone that is like that and sits on the couch and waits for someone to bring them food or beer all the time. That is what flounder do also.

-They like moving current. That is why they stay in one place for a while. They wait for that current to bring them food. Baitfish will flow with the current and that current brings them right above the flounder’s head and when it comes by…Bam! That flounder sucks that bait in and sits right back down to eat it.

-When do you start fishing for flounder? Anytime, but really when the water temps get in the 60’s and all the way through the summer until the water temp falls back to below 60.

-What tide is the best? Most people have a preference, but the tide doesn’t matter as much as having moving current. The rule of thumb is to fish both sides of a tide. For example, if high tide is at noon then your best time to fish would be from 9am until 3pm. This way you are hitting both sides of the moving tide. Also, when the time hits noon nine out of ten times you wont catch anything for 30-45 minutes around the slack tide time at noon. There is no water moving then and no activity for fishing. Take this time to eat some lunch or move to your next spot that you think will hold fish.

-One of the biggest mistakes people make is fishing a spot too long. Have a plan of where you are going to fish that day, and have it mapped out. Go to a spot and fish for 15-30 minutes and if nothing is biting then move on. If there are flounder, and they are hungry they will bite. Don’t get romantic about a spot and waste fishing time, move on and find them somewhere else.

-Live Bait? I am one that hates to search for bait and throw a cast net. I know people that love it and if you are then congrats, but I would rather spend my time fishing. I will catch bait if it is easy and right in front of me. I don’t see the point in searching for an hour for bait and not having much to show for it. With that being said, live bait is the best thing to catch flounder on. Whether its Pogies/Menhaden, Finger Mullet, Shrimp or Pinfish live bait will get results. Flounder like their bait alive, remember that they are a predator and ambush style feeder. They want to attack something coming by their head.

-Live Bait Rig? There is one ultimate live bait rig that 99% of people use and that is the “Carolina Rig”. This is the one that we use and not just because we fish in NC but because it works. Most people make their own, but you can buy them already tied if you want to. I find it relaxing right before the season starts to sit in front of the tv and make about 50-75 rigs. Yes, you need that many because if you aren’t losing tackle then you are probably in the wrong spot.

-Carolina Rig and its variations. The Carolina Rig is very simple and consists of a section of leader material, a swivel, hook and an egg sinker. Start with a 12”-16” piece of 20#-30# fluorocarbon leader, then tie a barrel swivel to one end and a #1 or 1/0 size Kahle/Circle/Wide Gap hook onto the other end. That is your simple Carolina rig. The egg sinker then slides onto your main line then you tie the line to that barrel swivel. The swivel will keep that sinker from going down to the hook. Some folks like a glass bead between the egg sinker and the swivel to protect the knot if you are using braided line, its not as necessary on mono.

-Length of leader? I know that most people online and the ones you buy at the tackle shop are longer than 16”. Some are even 24”-36”, but that is too long! Keep in mind that you are fishing with a live bait that is swimming and being pulled on the bottom, flounder live and stay on the bottom, everything happens on the bottom. You want to keep your bait as close to the bottom as possible for as long as possible. That bait will do its best to swim to the top and away from things as much as it can, and you don’t want it to swim too far away from the bottom. Also keep in mind what the water clarity is. I like to shorten my leader when the water is dirty and lengthen it a bit in clearer water for obvious reasons.

-Egg sinker size? Usually you will need ½, ¾, 1 oz for most inshore spots. The current can get very strong in some spots and you need to keep the bait on the bottom (broken record on this)

-Carolina Rig Presentation? This is the most important part to catching flounder. The best advice I was ever given was that you can’t work the bait too slow. Most people work it too fast. Remember that these fish are lazy and won’t spend too much of their energy chasing the bait. Whatever structure, hole, point, dock, etc. that you are fishing you want to cover as much ground as you can. Fish the bait in 2’ increments around the spot you think they are. For example, if you are fishing a dock you would want to throw at one end of it and after you bring it back to the boat, then throw about 2 feet from the last spot and keep repeating until you have fish that dock. By this time if you haven’t caught anything then its time to move to the next spot. You want to slowly drag that egg sinker across the bottom and you can do this two different ways. The most popular way is to throw your bait out, but the egg sinker won’t be in the same place always after you throw so when the bait hits and settles raise your rod tip to pull that line back up to the egg sinker. When that sinker is stuck back at the swivel then let it rest for a few seconds. Make sure your slack is tight and the rod tip is pointed straight out from your belly. All you do at this point is raise your rod tip to about ¾ from vertical without touching the reel handle, don’t reel. This motion should take about a 5-6 count. When your rod tip is up then drop your rod to horizontal and reel in the slack only. Keep doing this until you are back to the boat or get a hit. The other method is to just slowly reel the bait back to the boat and this should be very slow. One revolution of the reel handle should take about a 4-5 count.

-How do I know if I got a bite? The simple answer is that you just know, but it is more detailed than that. Flounder are one of the few fish that won’t take a bait and just run off with it. They hit it and sit right back down to enjoy it. Flounder are also ambushing the bait when you drag it across its nose and the way they get the bait in their mouth is to suck it in like a vacuum. This will give you that classic “thump” feeling as we call it. That thump will feel like someone took a finger and tapped your rod somewhere near the handle. Try this next time you have a rod in your hand at your house and remember that feeling. When you feel that thump whatever you do, don’t jerk the rod! That bait is not fully in the flounder’s mouth yet and it wants to go back down and eat it. If you jerk the rod it will pull the bait right out of its mouth almost every time. A flounder needs to turn that bait and position it just right to be able to swallow it. They are a flat fish and need to move that bait flat and at the right angle to swallow it. When you feel that thump you need to immediately drop your rod tip and be as still as you can be for about 10-15 seconds. After that you need to test to see if it was really a flounder bite or not. To do this lift your rod tip slowly until you feel some tension and gently lift it a few inches or so. If there is a flounder on it you will feel yourself basically lifting its head off the bottom and then you release the tension back down and wait again for another 30 seconds or so. A lot of people who catch flounder think they are hung up on something on the bottom, but it was really a flounder. I think the feeling of the test is like having a washcloth hooked and you are lifting it off the bottom (that slight dead weight). If you do this slowly you will not spook that fish and they will keep trying to swallow it. Remember that is a live bait and they know it. They aren’t going to give up on a tasty meal that easily. After you have waited that last 30 seconds and you feel pretty sure it’s a flounder all you want to do is tighten up your slack and just pull up on the rod and let that hook turn and catch the inside of that mouth, don’t jerk or set the hook hard. We are using special hooks that will do most of the work for you. When you pull up on the rod that hook will catch, I promise, and after that just hang on and do what comes natural.

-Artificial bait? Soft plastics on a simple jig head are the best for flounder. My preferred bait is a Gulp shrimp or jerk shad in 3-4”. My favorite colors are chart pepper neon, pearl white, new penny, sugar spice glow. Whatever soft plastic you use you must use some type of scent. You can use either a spray like Bang, or a gel like Pro-Cure. Shrimp or mullet flavor are the best I have found. You want to re-apply about every 10 casts. Artificial fishing for flounder is about the same as live bait with a few differences. You want to keep the jig on the bottom by using just enough weight for the current you are in. You usually can get away with ¼ oz.-3/4 oz. All you want to do is reel at the same speed as the live bait but after a few cranks you want to “pop” that bait off the bottom a few inches and then let it rest about 3 seconds then repeat until you are back to the boat. When a flounder hits that plastic you don’t have to wait for it to turn the jig. You need to set the hook as soon as you feel it, because that flounder doesn’t know it is fake until its in its mouth then he will get wise and try to spit it out. I prefer using artificial because I can cover more ground and don’t have to worry about dealing with catching and keeping it alive all day. Live bait fishing can be boring at times, but it does work.

-Where are they? The question most people want answered for sure. All I can do is give you some things to look for and places to target. The first thing you need is moving water or current. This is a must for successful flounder fishing. Flounder will also stack up around structure. Structure will include dock pilings, submerged debris, stumps, also edges of oyster shells. Any type of underwater structure will hold flounder. They will sit into the current and wait in hiding around that structure to ambush that bait you drag past them. One place that flounder also love are any holes, or drop offs. A drop off could mean and edge of a drop off into deeper water, for example when a 2 foot bank drops off to 6 feet, you want to fish right on that edge of the drop. The flounder will sit there and wait for bait to come up from the deeper section and ambush it. When you are fishing that drop off throw your bait parallel to that edge to keep your bait in that strike zone longer. When we talk about fishing a hole keep in mind that a hole or depression could be as simple as a few inch spot or a hole that just gives the flounder a spot to lay and ambush.

-How to find those holes, edges and structure? There are only a few ways to find these spots and it takes time and effort and luck. First thing you need to do is fish more during a low tide and take tons of notes, and pictures. Try to go during an extreme low tide and just do research. It is amazing what you can find while scouting a low tide. We all have cameras on our phones and taking pictures of structure and debris and the bottom will drastically increase your chances of finding flounder. The next time you are fishing those areas during a high tide you will know those spots, also put them into your fish finder/gps. Most of the fish finders today allow many spots to be stored and descriptions of the spot. Use these tools to your advantage. Another method is to keep your eyes open for other boats and find out why they are fishing there. I don’t mean go park right next to them and ruin their day. Don’t be that person! If you are fishing in a spot and you see a boat nearby and they leave after a while you may want to go over to that spot and find out why they were there. Your electronics will tell you a lot about the space if its high tide but go back there at low tide and really see what is there. You have to do research and keep a log of every spot in your area. This is the reason that guides are so successful, they aren’t going out to fish without using past knowledge. They know what is underneath that water and know where the spots are. I know fisherman that have simple notebooks full of handwritten notes from years of fishing. Include everything you know and do, when you caught the fish, where, what tide, water temp, cloudy, rainy, bait, color, time of day, etc. Start your notebook today!