One Atlantic Coast fish that bites throughout the summer is the flounder, and fishing for them is something of an art form. Summer flounder (known in the northern states as fluke) slowly prowl the waters from Maine to the Carolinas, while from the Carolinas south to the Gulf their cousins the southern flounder gather to feast around inshore inlets and waterways.
Catching flounder is not as simple as tossing a bait into the water and waiting around. Flounder are an ambush feeding fish that like movement in their prey, so the way to target them is with slow moving live baits and artificial lures. Bottom-hugging flounder rigs with live minnows and slowly crawled imitation shrimp or minnows will provide you with some fine catches and meals if you are in flounder country.
Although many people drift or troll to catch flounder during the summer, bigger fish are caught if you anchor up (or shore fish) near hard structure where large flatties congregate. Bridges, piers, and docks are flounder magnets during the summer and will hold the biggest fish.
Fishing live bait in summer is the easiest way to target flounder. The best baits are big, lively baitfish like finger and corncob mullet, mud minnows, small pinfish, or flashy pogies (small menhaden). You fish these baitfish directly on the bottom, retrieving them slowly through flounder territory.
For tips on what types of bottom rigs to use when flounder fishing with live bait see my article Simple Rigs for Catching Flounder.
If you want more of a challenge or don’t have live bait available the next best option is using artificial lures for flounder. Although some anglers still don’t associate flounder with artificial bait the truth is lures like bucktails have been taking flounder for decades, and today’s synthetic baits are perfect for flounder fishing.
One of the best flounder baits is the Berkley Gulp! Saltwater Shrimp. You can swim this synthetic imitation right along the bottom, basically crawling it through flounder territory on a jig head. I like to use a 3/8 jig head in most inshore situations.
Cast your Berkley Gulp! Saltwater Shrimp out and let it settle on the bottom. Then slooooowly crawl it towards you with an occasional hop. Flounder will see the movement and then smell the bait, taking the lure into their mouth in a motion much quicker than you would expect from such a lethargic fish.
Another solid flounder lure is the Zoom Soft Plastic Baits – Super Fluke. You can also use other assorted plastics and synthetic bodies that imitate minnows and shrimp. You can even catch flounder on spoons bumped along the bottom like the Bass Pro Shops Strata Spoon.
One big tip when flounder fishing: if you are using live bait give the flounder some time to take the lure into its mouth when you feel a hit and wait at least 20 seconds before setting the hook. When using a lure, however, set the hook immediately as soon as you feel anything, since a flounder will likely spit artificial bait out instead of swallowing it.
For more fishing tips see my website Surf and Salt.
