Top 8 Flounder Fishing Tips

COASTAL CAROLINA FISHERMAN
Tim Wilson

Looking for ways to make your next flounder fishing trip more successful? Then take a look at these easy tips on things you can do to increase your catch. These are tricks that can help you out smart even the smartest flatfish.

1. Follow the Trail. When looking for bait in the shallows, look for flounder trails. These are the areas that the flounder has been buried in the sandy bottom. Flounder trails can indicate an area that is prone to holding flounder.
2. Know Your Area. When you find a great spot for catching flounder, there are many times additional productive spots nearby. Slowly work the nearby areas and find those additional hot spots. Make sure to note those spots in your fishing log with the information like tide status, water temp and time of day.
3. Use the Bump and Roll Technique. When looking for a new flounder spot, allow your boat to slowly drift near the banks with the current while allowing your bait to bump along the bottom. This will tell the type of bottom as well as attracting any flounder that may hit the bait. This tactic allows you to cover a lot of fishing ground more effectively than sitting in one place.
4. Lead the Flounder From Line Cutting Structure. When fishing around docks and other structure that can lead to a cut line, lead the fish away prior to setting the hook. Once you feel a bump, slowly retrieve the bait, allowing the flounder to follow it until the line is clear of the dock structure, then set the hook.
5. Find Clean Water. Fast moving water means less water clarity and this means that it’s harder for the flounder to see the bait. Since the flat fish is commonly stationary and waiting for the bait to swim by, the clear water will make it easier to see your bait.
6. Don’t Give Up On the Oyster Beds. While we many times favor the sandy bottoms where the flounder will burrow, the oyster beds can also hold flounder as well. Throw a rig that can float above the oysters to avoid being snagged or a rig that can bounce. Flounder many times uses an oyster bed as a location of protection.
7. Move Slow and Look For Holes. When looking for flounder in the creeks, don’t overlook the middle of the creek for holes. Troll slowly over the deeper water looking for drop offs and holes with your depth finder that can hold lots of flounder.
8. Patience Is Your Friend. Flounder is one of the most patient fish there is. That means you have to have the same or patience to catch them. When you feel the bump, don’t react. Instead, give the flounder several seconds to commit and start pulling the line. Then you have him.