Flounder Fishing Secrets

The tasty flounder is a great sport fish you canblade works pretty well. Catching colors can
target in Rhode Island waters. Every day duringchange, and size of the spinner blade. But a bare
the summer hundreds of boats are out therehook doesn’t always work that well. Of
targeting this great fish. By following a few tipscourse, we always put bait on the hook. It might
you can become a better flounder fisherman.be squid, smelts, peanut bunker, or strips of
Summer flounder are a funny-looking brownishflounder belly. Depends on what is working that
fish with a totally white underside. They have twoday. Squid is usually a good bet to bring. Cut it into
eyes on one side of their head and swim with thelong strips and hook it a couple times before
eyes upward, tending to cruise along the bottom,putting it down. Now, as for sinker weight, use
not moving to far away from it. They cruisethe smallest sinker that will keep your rig on the
about 1-3 feet off the bottom looking forbottom, so you can jig it. The rig should always
something to eat, usually using the current frombe jigged, never let it drag on the bottom. A
the tides to cover ground. Often they will spookgentle jigging, lifting the rod tip no more than 12"
some small life form as they approach, and aand back down till you feel the sinker hit the
small puff of mud or motion is sent into thebottom. Down below, what happens is your rig is
water which attracts the flounder to that areamoving as the boat moves along, and each time
and he will pounce on the poor creature. This habitthe sinker hits the bottom, it makes a noise and a
is the one we exploit when fishing for them.puff of sand or mud. This noise and puff of mud
Ok, so you want to find some flounder. Well, theyattracts the attention of the flounder, and the bait
aren’t always in the same place. As theon the hook tastes good. This is what brings
season progresses, you have to go deeper andthem in.
deeper to find them. Sometimes they move eastNow, on to hooking the fish. The big mistake I
or west with the tide. They prefer sandysee here is everyone wants to haul back quickly
bottoms, so these are where you want to beas soon as they feel a hit. This is a bad idea, as
and you always drift for them. Never spend morethe flounder typically grabs the end of the bait
than 15 minutes on a drift when searching, that isaway from the hook. So when you jerk the rod,
the point many anglers don’t understand,it pulls the bait out of his mouth, or off the hook.
keep moving until you find a good drift where youThe trick is to lift the rod tip slowly until he is
catch 4 or more fish. Then keep doing that drifthooked or lets go of the bait. Once he is hooked,
until it no longer produces well. Sometimes I maythen you can proceed with reeling him in. Use a
move 10 times before finding them. If the drift islight tip rod, a rod with a heavy tip makes it hard
slow, the flounder fishing will be slow. If the drift isto feel the hits and hard to tell when you’ve
too fast, either slow the boat down with a drifthooked the fish. Put two anglers side-by-side, one
sock or sea anchor, or give it up.with with a heavy rod, and the other with a light
Onward to rigs and methods. A typical flounder rigrod. The angler with the light rod will outfish the
uses a 3-way swivel with sinker snap and a 30"one with the heavier rod every time, given the
leader with some kind of fluke rig attached. It cansame level of skill.
be as simple as a bare hook, or very elaborateIf you want to catch big ones, put on a big bait
with spinners, small squids and beads, etc. Theand be patient. If you follow some of these points
sinker is important, as you need to have your rigyou’ll be rewarded with more flounder in the
on the bottom to catch these fish. The rig itself,boat.
well usually a simple green squid and a spinner