I decided to change things up a bit this week. With the tournament traffic, heavier winds than I’d prefer, and several reports of a hot flounder bite, I decided to give it a go!
It’s safe to say the flounder bite has really turned on! And some good size ones at that. Flounder are one delicious species and can be quite the challenge. The best way to flounder fish in my opinion is with a small 2-3 inch finger mullet, mud minnow or even a large live shrimp on a ¼ ounce jig-head or a 2/0 circle hook tied 12 inches under a swivel and ¼ ounce sinker. This is actually called a flounder rig and it works well! Strip baits of all sorts work great too! Just thread the strip bait on the jig-head nice and flat to give a natural presentation. When flounder fishing try to keep your bait right on the bottom, I like to cast out and let my bait hit the bottom and with a slow reel creep my bait along the bottom. If you think you’re moving your bait slow enough then slow it down even more! Artificial baits such as Gulp shrimp, DOA shrimp and small paddle-tails work well too.
Flounder often move a lot and are commonly found along sandy bottoms along channel drop offs, docks, and pretty much anywhere that is a good ambush spot. Right now the bite is best around the inlets and has even been getting good along the beach! Keep the bait close to the bottom and you’re sure to get a flounder bite!
Hey Alex, great report as always! I don’t think I ever hear about people targeting flounder this time of year and am wondering if runs like this are rare, or are they a pretty common occurrence?
I’ve seen good runs of flounder this time of year, but lately it has been much better than it usually is. To be honest, I can’t tell you how many people I saw with piles of flounder out there. We caught a handful as by catch while snook fishing.