How To Catch More Flounder With This Paddletail Lure [VIDEO]
- By: Joseph Simonds
- on
- Found In: Fishing Tips, Flounder
It’s Doormat Time!
Aka time to share a fishing tip with you on how to catch flounder.
Like all species of fish, it’s important to take a moment to consider the physical characteristics of the fist to determine the best means of finding and catching them.
And for flounder, this exercise is very easy because their unique body design clearly shows where they’ll be found… on the bottom!
With both eyes on a single side and very good camo-like skin pattern, flounder are built to be the ultimate predator from the bottom…
Just look at their cool head design… I almost feel bad for any small bait fish that happens to swim over a flounder hiding on the bottom. But my love of fresh flounder fillets for dinner quickly takes that thought away.
So given their body design, the most important thing to consider when flounder fishing is that we’ll need to focus on keeping our baits very close to the bottom because that’s where they’ll be stalking prey.
But that isn’t quite enough, it’s also important to know that flounder also like to hang around structure in addition to their clear need to be on a flat sand/mud/rock bottom…
So the top spots for flounder typically have some sort of structure nearby.
Below is a short list of places to find feeding flounder.
7 Great Places To Find Feeding Flounder
- Sandy bottoms in grass flats
- Around and under Docks
- Reefs and Wrecks
- Jetties (Jetty Rocks)
- Points
- Mangrove roots
- Bottom fluctuations (even a slight change in depth can be a great ambush point for flounder)
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What Do Flounder Eat?
Now that you know where to find flounder, now consider what they eat…
Like most inshore fish, the standard small bait fish and shrimp are always safe bets.
But I put my faith in small bait fish over shrimp given the fact that flounder have a full set of sharp teeth, which typically means they’re built to grab ahold of a lively bait fish.
So if you have the option to use a small 3 to 4-inch live mullet, shiner, etc., then go with the small bait fish because the odds are probably a bit better with them compared to a live shrimp.
However, most of my personal best flounder were caught on artificial lures.
And my absolute favorite lure to use for flounder is a small jig consisting of a 3 to 4-inch paddle-tail soft plastic bait rigged on a 1/8th oz to 1/4th oz jig head.
Here’s Joe with a decent sized flounder caught on a soft plastic jig a couple weeks ago:
How To Catch Flounder [VIDEO]
When pursuing flounder with jigs, it is extremely important to keep the lure close to the bottom to maximize your chances of success.
And there are a few specific techniques that can significantly help you get more strikes… see them in action on the video below:
If you’re going to be using live bait, then it’s important to make sure that you keep the bait close to the bottom.
I like to use a form of a knocker rig where an egg weight is threaded onto my braid with a swivel tied to the braid to keep it from going all of the way down to the hook.
And on the other side of the swivel, tie a 25lb to 30lb fluorocarbon leader using a snug knot that is roughly 1.5 ft to 2 ft in length going to a circle hook using a loop knot.
Note: Make sure to not just let your bait sit in one spot because flounder typically stay put until they see a potential meal close by.
Tackle for Flounder Fishing
Here are links to the tackle I typically use when flounder fishing:
- Jigheads (1/8th – 1/4th oz head with 2/0 size hook)
- Soft Plastic Tail – Gulp! Pogy
(white and smelt are my favorites) - DOA 3′ Paddletail soft Shad
- Fluorocarbon Leader (25 lb to 30 lb test)
- PowerPro (10 lb test)
Conclusion
Although I have caught flounder here in Florida on many different lures, jigs, shrimp, and even live bait, my “Go-To” lure is a paddletail jig…
It’s easy to use, and the flounder seem to love it.
Do you have a favorite bait or lure for flounder fishing?
Let me know in the comments.
Related Flounder Fishing Posts:
1. How To Catch Flounder With This Paddletail Lure
2. 3 Tips For Catching Flounder On Artificial Lures
3. How Well Do You Really Know The Flounder? Take This Quiz To Find Out
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P.S. – If you think your angler friends or network would like to see this post, please Tag them or Share this with them. It would mean a lot to me.
P.P.S. – Many flounder catches have been submitted to our Strong Angler Challenge US Open series, so you can click here to see who’s catching flounder and what they’re using.
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Nice
Lesson
Luke, Great Video thanks for sharing.
When I was a kid we used to go flounder giggling in the evening on the sound side ( core sound). It seems I remember our success rate had to do with the tide either coming in or going out. When fishing for flounder is there a time that’s better for it? Does the tide have anything to do with catching more? Excellent video! It’s my favorite fish to catch. 2 years ago I fought 4 or 5 using a smaller silver rat l trap. I had really good luck with it. Thanks for the paddle tail idea
hi joe, I fish in ocean city NJ, Belmar NJ want to know if could meet other member in my area to fish with, one of early member ,e mail, dlyons18@verizon.net or 856 359 6412
Great information. Nice to know now is a good time to fish Flounder.
Luke, Great video. Very helpful. Thanks, Tom Watts
Luke. I liked your flounder tip video and my tip to you is try to add a spinner to your paddletail like we do here in the jax and st augustine area the flash from the blade preferably copper maybe silver where your at because your water is clearer then ours ours is tannin stained but the flash really gets there atention there is an inshore guide captain here that specializes in flounder capt roger bump of jax he uses mostly spinnerbaits but inline not safty pin either or they both work great infact besides flounder and topwater plugs i mostly catch my refs on them as well anyways thanks for the info
Sorry forgot to put my name about the paddle tail! Lol
I’ve used live minnows in Delaware but live mullet in Florida going to try the paddle tail! Thank you
I have caught all my flounder on live shrimp & the only artificials I catch them on in the winter & summer months are strike king rage tail shrimps in near clear/chartreuse color & a white or chartreuse 1/8-1/4 oz jighead. I caught them fishing sandy potholes with healthy grass close to fort desoto in st. Pete but have no targeted them recently because snook and trout have been easier.