I am just having no luck with the Flounder, the few I have caught have been when I reel in a rod that had been sitting a while & as I start I realize there is a fish hooked on it. Was wondering what I am doing wrong, any help would be great.
- Hook type.
If I toss it out & just let it sit I use Circle hooks. If I throw it out & retreat slowly back in to cover more ground I use Kahle hooks, but have also used circle hooks.
- Rig.
I use Carolina Rig with a 12? to 18? leader & 1 to 1.5 oz weight depending on current.
- Bite.
I have gotten bites but have yet to tell if it is a Flounder or a crab. I have been told let it sit a long time since they scale the bait & then eat it from tail to head. I have been told when you get that first bite count to three then try to hook it. I have tried both with no luck. When I have gotten bites & let it sit my bait get stolen, the tail end is eaten off, or sometimes the belly of the mud minnow is eaten away.
Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated since I am going to try to make a trip down in the next couple of weeks to try for Flounder & Reds.
I posted this a while back. It explains how I catch them and may help you. just remember…it’s about time for the big ones to move to the shelf to start spawning.
http://old.charlestonfishing.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=139308&SearchTerms=Flounder
John
#1 number 2 kahle hook. #2 leader size verys I make my own the only important part is fluorocarbon. #3 tail bite off is bluefish guts eat out is crab. Important if you don’t move your bait a crab will eat it. The key us to find the right speed. Flounder are ambush feeders not bottom feeders like redfish. You have to move it in front of him. If you catch him just letting it sit you got lucky and hit him in the head with it. Flounder bite is very easy to feel. It feels like your rod got slammed in a car door, a crab feels like he’s shocking you and a red will try to pull the rod out the boat. The kahle hook sets itself. After you feel the bite ease up on the rod tip and 99% of the time he’s hung. Now all you have to worry about is the hard part finding the fish.
Great help guys. I had a feeling it was not Flounder half eating my minnow. I will also give Irobalo rig a try to see if it works better for me than Carolina rig. Also maybe I have been using too much lead, I use 1 to 1.5 & looks like maybe I need to cut back. How far apart should I put the two hooks?
Far enough apart that they don’t “hook” each other when the two baits are swimming around…18".
John
Gotcha, sounds good & thanks for the help guys. Hope to come down next weekend so maybe they will still be in the inlets & creeks then & I will give it a try.
That was very helpful, explained a lot. Hope to get to try some of this out soon.