One short 13.5" trout and slot 14.5" were caught on smaller 2-3" live menhaden on a carolina rig with a 1oz sinker and a 1 or 1/0 circle hook. Normally I use the smallest hooks possible for anything I’m fishing for, preferably mosquito hooks. I fish out of a sneak boat, hence the name, and it allows me to get very close to the marsh and be very quiet. This afternoon I was creeping along the marsh and saw a bunch of bait schooled up in a small island in the harbor where all of the wind was pushing the bait up against the shore. There was a lot of bait action which is a good sign. I fished from 5pm to 8pm on an outgoing tide. Low tide was around 10:40pm and so there was still a good bit of water where I was at, with the shallow area being about 2-3’ and the deep 10-13’.
On to flounder, which for some reason I have a very hard time catching and have had to adapt my tackle over time. In the same spot I was catching the trout on a carolina rig on the bottom I was casting a flounder rig that I will show in a minute. Now without getting too convoluted what I look for when fishing for flounder is what most of you probably hear all of the time, points, peaks, oysters, etc. etc. Those are all true and good advice, but are very stock answers. Now, what I find key are gradual drops offs into deep water. I will position my boat in the shallows a distance away from where I know there is a significant change from shallow to deep water, casting my rig into the deep and reeling into the shallow very slowly but with a quick twitching action. How do you know where these drop offs are? Well you could use you depth finder if you have one (I don’t on this boat) and can understand it (I don’t on any boat), but I just spend a lot of time on the water.
Here is the rig that I use. It is a 10z. Sprow buck tail with a yellow or white Gulp mulle
Good info there, I tried that double rig with the white gulp on one and a mud minnow on the other, was really excited about trying it…first cast it hung up and lost the whole thing. I’m going to try it again in the morning. Is the rig really that productive? So far I have not had any luck with the gulps.
Good info there, I tried that double rig with the white gulp on one and a mud minnow on the other, was really excited about trying it…first cast it hung up and lost the whole thing. I’m going to try it again in the morning. Is the rig really that productive? So far I have not had any luck with the gulps.
It seems to be the only thing that I can catch flounder on with any kind of species specific targeting. I have caught flounder in the past on the standard Carolina rig soaking on the bottom, but it was rare. I my opinion when you are using a freshwater style fishing of cast and retrieve, cast and retrieve, it is difficult to do with live bait because one its hard on the bait and two it’s difficult for me to get the bait to swim and look right when I retirieve it. It spins and stuff and I don’t think it looks natural. I use the gulps because they seem to hold up the best and they smell so maybe the fish like it. Another example of when I use the gulps is when I fish the flood tides and get into the grass I use a weighted offset shank hook and rig it weedless. It goes through the grasss great and does well where any kind of live bait I would kill by rigging it weedless. So try it with the two gulps. I never catch anything with mud minnows anyway, but that’s just me.
I find that the gradual slopes are real magnets for flounder. I’ve had a lot of luck in these areas. As far as the gulps…it’s hit or miss for me. They catch fish for sure but one day the gulp is hot and one day the live bait is the key. What I’ve recently tried with good results is to use a double rig with live bait in the rod holder and cast gulps on a 1/4 jig head while working an area. I use the gulp shrimp and swimming mullet. If the artificials aren’t working I’ll try tipping the jig head with a minnow.
Flounder will hit anything that moves in front of their nose. Caught one while bouncing a fiddler off bottom next to pilings of Capers Is dock. Finger mullet are best if available. Tougher than menhaden and shrimp, and are shiny. They can be fished on bottom and in sparse grass b/c they avoid hazards, whereas MMs will hide. They are also great for freelining b/c they are heavy enough to cast. I have had flounder come 2-3 ft off bottom to eat freelined mullet on surface. They are greedy and will bite bait that takes time to get down, so I always wait after bite. They spread out during last half of outgoing tide into deeper water, then push up into shallows as tide rises. They will be right along grass line at high tide. They love facing into current at mouth of tiny feeder creeks as marsh empties during outgoing. Also, don’t give up when they spit the hook. I have caught many flounder after losing them on initial hook-up. They don’t run far. Had one on line 8 times with multiple baits before finally got him.
they don’t swallow at first bite… might swim off with it and then eat it with the hook. I catch em by mistake a lot but I NEVER jerk until I let the fish run a bit with the bait. BIG mud minnows make a BIG difference. See my Mud Minnow Madness post in Inshore Reports.
