How to Catch a Flounder

Nothing beats spending time at the coast with a fishing rod in your hand. This article will give you some key tips for catching summer and southern flounder on the east coast. Fluke can be tricky to catch, but with some patience and practice, you can be enjoying fresh fried flounder.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• fishing rod
• flounder rig
• landing net
• live bait
• patience

1. Make sure your gear is in good shape. Check your fishing rod and reel to ensure they are working properly. Also inspect your fishing line. Replace it if it seems brittle or if it has been on your reel for over 6 months. 15 lb. test line is sufficient. Nothing is worse than hooking a big flounder and losing him because your line is old.

2. Tie on a flounder rig. The easiest rig consists of a swivel with a 1/4 to 1/2 ounce egg sinker above it, and a steel leader below it, preferably silver colored, not black. The leader will keep the flounder from biting the line in two. Use a baitholder hook on the end of the steel leader.

3. Catch or purchase live bait. Flounder love live minnows such as finger mullet, mud minnows, and croakers. Most bait stores carry mud minnows. Finger mullet are usually easy to catch on the east coast during low tide and flounder love them. You want the bait fish to be 4-5 inches ideally. You can find them in any marsh area and usually in the surf too. Keep them alive if possible by changing the water every 20-30 minutes.

4. Select a good fishing spot by asking around. People will tell you where the local hotspots are. Try to find some sort of structure or change in the bottom of the ocean or inlet. Flounder like places where they can lay and wait on bait fish. Cast your line and wait. Every 10-15 seconds, pull up gently, moving the sinker along the bottom. When a flounder bites, you may feel a bump on the line or you may feel nothing. Many times, the line will just get heavy.

5. The next step is really tough to do...WAIT. I have lost many flounder because I got too anxious. You cannot wait too long on a flounder bite. Count to at least 20 if you feel a tug or a heavy weight on your line. Then, set the hook, but don't snap the line. You want to "pull" the hook into the bony mouth of a flounder. Keep tension on the line and use a landing net to get the flounder on land. Don't raise the flounder's head out of the water or he might come off. That would be bad.

6. Check the state standards for what is a keeper flounder. Abide by state laws because it is much cheaper to buy a flounder dinner at a restaurant than to pay for a flounder ticket. Clean your fish and enjoy!

Tips & Warnings

• Use sharp hooks, not rusty ones.
• Bigger minnows catch bigger flounder!
• Don't stick your finger in a flounder's mouth, they have big sharp teeth.