How to Catch a Yellowtail Flounder

Flounder stay close to the ocean floor.

Yellowtail flounder are one of the most common and popular saltwater fish caught for both sport and food. Flounder are bottom dwellers, meaning they stay on or near the bottom of the ocean at all times. This type of fish is popularly defined as "the fish for people who don't like fish" because flounder does not have the fishy taste that tuna and salmon do. Catching yellowtail flounder is not difficult, if you know the right conditions in which to fish.

Things You'll Need

• Medium action saltwater fishing rod
• 20-lb. weight fishing line
• sinkers, 1 to 4 oz.
• Wide hooks
• Minnows (live or frozen)

Instructions

1. Assemble your fishing rod and reel. Most flounder typically weigh less than 3 lbs., but they can put up a pretty good fight. You'll need the 20-lb. weight fishing line to pull a thrashing yellowtail flounder up through the ocean currents. Whether you are fishing in still or moving water will determine the weight of your sinker. Use heavier sinkers when there is a lot of water movement. Place one or more hooks on the fishing line at least 15 inches from the sinker at the end of your line.

2. Find a spot on the ocean side of an inlet where the water is moving with the tide, if you're in a boat. If you are fishing from a pier, the only thing you can really do is make sure your sinker is touching the ocean floor.

3. Bait your hooks with live or frozen minnows. You can use other types of bait, such as strips of squid.

4. Cast your line and feel the bumping vibrations through the rod. There will be one set of bumps that indicate that your sinker has hit the ocean floor. The second set of bumps will be in short, quick sets. This is the yellowtail flounder biting at your hooks.

5. Reel in the line moving slow and steady at first, speeding up as you get closer to the surface to insure that the flounder is caught on the hook.

6. Re-bait your hook as needed to catch as many yellowtail flounder as local fishing laws allow.

Tips & Warnings

• Fishing without a saltwater fishing license in some states is illegal. You could incur heavy fines, and in some cases, incarceration.

References

• Game and Fish Magazine: How to Find the Flounder You Want
• Cape May Times: Flounder FIshing
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association: FishWatch: Yellow Tail Flounder