How to Catch a Flounder on Artificial Lures (Message by Tig)

For artificial lures, I like to use a 1/8 or 1/4 ounce lead head jig with a soft tail like a Saltwater Assassin or Norton Sand Eel (try the Sand Eel Jr). There's also a great specialty flounder soft bait called the Flounder Pounder. It's a short, stubby soft bait with 2 curly or grub tail sections and an integrated treble hook. Some flounder will hit a gold spoon if it's not too far from the bottom. They occasionally will go after a sinking plug or even a top water!  Use the spiral wired twist-lock jigs for the Assassins to keep them from slipping off.  The most popular colors are red shad (dark) or strawberry with white tail, chartreuse with orange tail (Fire Tiger), white or glow with red or chartreuse tail, and pumpkin seed or plum with chartreuse tail.  I like to use a garlic scented tail dip/dye like the kind from Spike-It.

Flounder like to grab the bait, swim a few feet, and THEN down it. Sometimes they will just try to stun it by hitting it hard and then go back to eat the disabled fish. If you try to set the hook as soon as you feel them pick it up, you will usually pull it right out of their mouths if it's a single hooked lead head. That's where the treble hook comes to play. Also, the shorter soft baits help prevent those short strikes (biting only the end and not up where the hook is). Otherwise, I don't support treble hooks except on plugs.

A popular method of catching them with a single hook soft bait is to fish it slooooowly, just bouncing it along the bottom with short, small twitches of the rod tip. Every few twitches, let it just sit there with some slack. They will usually hit it while it's dropping down, but sometimes they grab it after it's on the bottom and sitting still. When you feel ANYTHING that slows your retrieve or a possible hit, WAIT! Drop the rod tip to give it more slack. If a flounder feels any resistance from your line, they'll spit it out. Start counting... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, wait! 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and reel in a few turns of slack immediately followed by a big hook set.

Sometimes you will have a founder already hooked and not even know it since they settle back down on the bottom. Once you KNOW you have it hooked solidly, set the hook again. I've lost most flounder later in the battle than early. ALL anglers lose flounder... it's a given. The good thing is you can usually cast back to the general area and catch them again! I've missed flounder 2 or 3 times before finally hooking them.

Reel it in steadily and don't let the line get any slack. Don't get in too much of a hurry or you can pull a poorly hooked lure right out. Let the weight and fight of the fish determine the length of the fight. Once it gets close, don't try to pull it strait up to the surface. They can spit a hook really quick up there or you can break a big one off while trying. Instead, work your rod back and forth while reeling it in. This usually causes them to run since they like the bottom. Ready the net... Work the flounder up to
net depth like you are letting it slice through the water in layers... back and forth. Put the net into the water and lead the fish head first into it. They may spook from the site of the net, but tapping them on the tail with one will cause a much stronger attempt to run. If you LIFT the flounder out of the water into a net or boat, you will increase their chance of getting
off the hook.

A net is a MUST HAVE for flounder. I like the ones that have a cork handle and the bungee cord that snaps onto your belt for wading. There is also a new fluorocarbon one out, but it costs plenty.