How do Flounders hunt ???
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Re: How to Flounders hunt ???
the flounder is a very aggresive fish so i would br inclined to say they are deffinately catchable on lures. question is lure choice!!! for the bulk of the flatty bashing i have done ive used lots of bling, spoons, blades etc and fished with a rolling lead as light as i can get away with. so speed wise id say slow to stop with small gentle movements using the current to slowly swing the lure in an arc on a fairly tight line but slowly with plenty of pauses and inch it along. never tried myself but would adopt a similar technique. maybe a carolina rig and a finesse worm?
the flounder is a very aggresive fish so i would br inclined to say they are deffinately catchable on lures. question is lure choice!!! for the bulk of the flatty bashing i have done ive used lots of bling, spoons, blades etc and fished with a rolling lead as light as i can get away with. so speed wise id say slow to stop with small gentle movements using the current to slowly swing the lure in an arc on a fairly tight line but slowly with plenty of pauses and inch it along. never tried myself but would adopt a similar technique. maybe a carolina rig and a finesse worm?
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Re: How to Flounders hunt ???
I have some small FinS fish Si, 3" I think. Also got some trailer baits which are about 2".Lewisman said:
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Re: How to Flounders hunt ???
good question Si!!! lol. i get all my stuff online!! so not sure about local tackle shops as i only tend to pick up bait or fly tying materials locally and from what ive seen its usually storm shads, sidewinders etc nothing finesse
maybe someone else knows of a local shop for local people who have finesse sp`s.
good question Si!!! lol. i get all my stuff online!! so not sure about local tackle shops as i only tend to pick up bait or fly tying materials locally and from what ive seen its usually storm shads, sidewinders etc nothing finesse
maybe someone else knows of a local shop for local people who have finesse sp`s.
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Re: How to Flounders hunt ???
I think i'll have a quick look in HR Jones & Tacklesmart tomorrow. I could even buy some cheapo's from Tacklsmart & cut them to size. Maybe rig with a small lead-head, and tally-ho . . .he who dares !!
I was thinking that i might use an older softer-tip Daiwa spinning rod that i have.
Mr Zzippy said:good question Si!!! lol. i get all my stuff online!! so not sure about local tackle shops as i only tend to pick up bait or fly tying materials locally and from what ive seen its usually storm shads, sidewinders etc nothing finesse
I think i'll have a quick look in HR Jones & Tacklesmart tomorrow. I could even buy some cheapo's from Tacklsmart & cut them to size. Maybe rig with a small lead-head, and tally-ho . . .he who dares !!
I was thinking that i might use an older softer-tip Daiwa spinning rod that i have.
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Both myself and Kev have caught Flounder on the fly.
Both on 3" very sparse clouser minnows if i recall.
I've also caught Florida Flounder on jigs/plastics.
In all cases, they were pretty aggressive take wise.
Both on 3" very sparse clouser minnows if i recall.
I've also caught Florida Flounder on jigs/plastics.
In all cases, they were pretty aggressive take wise.
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I have caught flounders on soft plastics. I haven't caught any this year as they seem to have all but disappeared locally at the moment. I fish in the harbour using 3 or 4gm jig heads and 2in soft plastics.
I fish the lure in short twitches of about 6in to 12in. The area I fish most has almost no tidal movement but when i fish other parts of the harbour I use the current to slowly move the lure around. That makes choosing the size of lead head a bit more of an experiment until I get the weight right.
They are quite aggressive and are mainly ambush feeders using their camoflage to hide in the sand/gravel/mud of the harbour bottom. They do fight hard though! They don't make long runs but are quite strong and will use the current if they get chance. I use a very light spinning rod and 4 or 6lb Fireline. That is more than enough for most flounders.
The soft plastics I used were natural colours mainly shrimp, silver flake and olive green flake. The brand is Atomic which is an Australian company and the models I use were made for bream. I don't think the size, make, colour is as critical as how they are fished.
When I used to fish for flounders with bait they always had shrimp, worm and very small goby like fish in their gut. So when i targetted them with soft plastics I was trying to imitate them. If you walk along the edge of the water see what, if anything you disturb and then try and match that.
I fish the lure in short twitches of about 6in to 12in. The area I fish most has almost no tidal movement but when i fish other parts of the harbour I use the current to slowly move the lure around. That makes choosing the size of lead head a bit more of an experiment until I get the weight right.
They are quite aggressive and are mainly ambush feeders using their camoflage to hide in the sand/gravel/mud of the harbour bottom. They do fight hard though! They don't make long runs but are quite strong and will use the current if they get chance. I use a very light spinning rod and 4 or 6lb Fireline. That is more than enough for most flounders.
The soft plastics I used were natural colours mainly shrimp, silver flake and olive green flake. The brand is Atomic which is an Australian company and the models I use were made for bream. I don't think the size, make, colour is as critical as how they are fished.
When I used to fish for flounders with bait they always had shrimp, worm and very small goby like fish in their gut. So when i targetted them with soft plastics I was trying to imitate them. If you walk along the edge of the water see what, if anything you disturb and then try and match that.
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Lewisman, I don't know if Japanese flounder are the same as our flounder, but i know for a fact that due to the pressure on bass in Japan, flounder fishing is becomming more and more popular there and they are having most success on 120mm slim sinking type lures and softies.
Dunno if that helps?
Dunno if that helps?
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I'll be fishing a mark on Sunday that holds plenty of good flounders. Gonna have a bit of a plot & a scheme as to how i may pick one up on lure. It'll certainly be report-worthy if i can manage it . . . . he who dares Rodney . . . he who dares !!!
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Lewisman,
I was reading on a japanese forum, that the favoured technique is a minnow fished slightly over depth (so it bumps the sandy bottom), Grab some small plastics grubs on a small jig head, Saltiga and other members have caught them this way. They fight surprisingly well for there size
I was reading on a japanese forum, that the favoured technique is a minnow fished slightly over depth (so it bumps the sandy bottom), Grab some small plastics grubs on a small jig head, Saltiga and other members have caught them this way. They fight surprisingly well for there size
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It's an estuary mark i'm tackling, so the sandy-bottom technique is a go'er. When you say a 'minnow', what size would you think ? As for the grubs & jig-heads . . again, what size do you think ?Tunny said:Lewisman,
I was reading on a japanese forum, that the favoured technique is a minnow fished slightly over depth (so it bumps the sandy bottom), Grab some small plastics grubs on a small jig head, Saltiga and other members have caught them this way. They fight surprisingly well for there size
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Saltiga and another member both told me that 2.5-3" was the right size for the grub with chartreuse being the favoured colour. Plug wise i would look towards the smaller end of the scale 90-100mm with small(ish) hooks. But I did get one in the surf a while ago on a feed shallow 128. And that was only a little guy. I think as long as you can get the lure close enough to them, then they will have a go.
I have been trying here, but we just don't have the numbers of Flounder to have a proper go at it.
Best of luck,
Tunny
I have been trying here, but we just don't have the numbers of Flounder to have a proper go at it.
Best of luck,
Tunny
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Thanks for the info Tunny.
I've just had a bit of a rummage through my gear . . . and have come across some cracking little grubs in pink, orange and chartreuse. Also, some cracking little jig-heads with bright heads (again, pink, etc. . . ).
Also, just found some 'Shrimp' shaped s/p's . . . they would be worth a try ????
I've got some Storm s/p's that i picked up in France last year (selling them off at 1 Euro per packet in Decathalon, so picked-up a big bag of them). Some of them look worth a try. I've also got some cheap eel's that i might cut down to size.
I really would never have thought that i'd be this excited at the thought of targetting Flounder !!! :lol: :lol: :lol: I'll be chucking the kitchen-sink at em' :lol:
I've just had a bit of a rummage through my gear . . . and have come across some cracking little grubs in pink, orange and chartreuse. Also, some cracking little jig-heads with bright heads (again, pink, etc. . . ).
Also, just found some 'Shrimp' shaped s/p's . . . they would be worth a try ????
I've got some Storm s/p's that i picked up in France last year (selling them off at 1 Euro per packet in Decathalon, so picked-up a big bag of them). Some of them look worth a try. I've also got some cheap eel's that i might cut down to size.
I really would never have thought that i'd be this excited at the thought of targetting Flounder !!! :lol: :lol: :lol: I'll be chucking the kitchen-sink at em' :lol:
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Well got a cracking little (well . . actually not that little . . ) selection of s/p's together . . . and am fishing one of Marc's (i am going spinning) local marks tomorrow morning. It's an estuary mark, and we 'know' that the Flounders are there (and also the chance of a Bonus Bass (hehe)).
I popped into my local tackle shop today, and they had some cracking looking little 'Savage Gear' Sea Trout s/p's that look just the job (& a Bushwhacker for £45, which seems like a good deal) !!!
I'm gonna use my Shukan, with Luke's little Awa-Shima 2000 size loaded with mono. I havent got anything with a softer tip that's nice & light, so i hope that the Shukan doesnt kill too much of the action - gonna try & do everything ultra-slow, so hopefully i can pull something out of the bag. I'll charge the camera, and hope hope hope to have something to share with you guys tomorrow night. Pressure on.
Oh, btw, if i nail something on the Storm pre-rigged shad-type s/p's, does that still count as top quality s/p work ? Or is that 2nd division s/p work ? What's the thinking on this ?
I popped into my local tackle shop today, and they had some cracking looking little 'Savage Gear' Sea Trout s/p's that look just the job (& a Bushwhacker for £45, which seems like a good deal) !!!
I'm gonna use my Shukan, with Luke's little Awa-Shima 2000 size loaded with mono. I havent got anything with a softer tip that's nice & light, so i hope that the Shukan doesnt kill too much of the action - gonna try & do everything ultra-slow, so hopefully i can pull something out of the bag. I'll charge the camera, and hope hope hope to have something to share with you guys tomorrow night. Pressure on.
Oh, btw, if i nail something on the Storm pre-rigged shad-type s/p's, does that still count as top quality s/p work ? Or is that 2nd division s/p work ? What's the thinking on this ?
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"Oh, btw, if i nail something on the Storm pre-rigged shad-type s/p's, does that still count as top quality s/p work ? Or is that 2nd division s/p work ? What's the thinking on this ?"
No difference in my mind and no such thing as 2nd division S/P work.
Its all about luring a fish to take the artificial. Whether you've managed that with a lure you've built/put together yourself or an off the shelf lure.
No difference in my mind and no such thing as 2nd division S/P work.
Its all about luring a fish to take the artificial. Whether you've managed that with a lure you've built/put together yourself or an off the shelf lure.
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I wrote a reply earlier to this but it seems to have disappeared! Very odd.
A few more observations on flounders.
The first flounders I caught onlures were about twenty years ago when after bass. The first was on a deep diving Rebel Crawfish pattern. To me it looked a killer pattern for bass but I never ever caught a bass on that plug but did catch flounders.
The next thing was really weird. I used to have a plug which was essentially a 4 inch rubber crayfish imitation with a diving vane. The only problem was that the plug only had one trble and that was undrneath and roughly in the middle. I fished this a number of times from a harbour wall into the estuary and many times I had flounders following this plug pulling at the rubber claws but could never hook one. Stinger hooks would have meant losing the plug. One of the flounders that follwed this lure was truly enormous, well over 3 pounds possibly four.
Following on from this I tried largemouth bass jigs. Some of the ones we used we bought in the UK and were sold by Shakespeare. They looked like a bucktail but the fibres inluded mylar and other iridescent materials. These were rigged with stingers and we did catch flounder on these.
More recently I have used Australian bream lures, soft plastics around 2in on light heads.
All of this has been secondary to bass fishing so has never really been pushed to the limits. There is still loads more to learn.
Another thing of note is in Japan they seem to predominantly use yellow plugs when targetting flounder, even in clear water. Not sure that helps or not but I have never used yellow lures for flounder so can't compare. Still time to try it before the bassing picks up aagin.
A few more observations on flounders.
The first flounders I caught onlures were about twenty years ago when after bass. The first was on a deep diving Rebel Crawfish pattern. To me it looked a killer pattern for bass but I never ever caught a bass on that plug but did catch flounders.
The next thing was really weird. I used to have a plug which was essentially a 4 inch rubber crayfish imitation with a diving vane. The only problem was that the plug only had one trble and that was undrneath and roughly in the middle. I fished this a number of times from a harbour wall into the estuary and many times I had flounders following this plug pulling at the rubber claws but could never hook one. Stinger hooks would have meant losing the plug. One of the flounders that follwed this lure was truly enormous, well over 3 pounds possibly four.
Following on from this I tried largemouth bass jigs. Some of the ones we used we bought in the UK and were sold by Shakespeare. They looked like a bucktail but the fibres inluded mylar and other iridescent materials. These were rigged with stingers and we did catch flounder on these.
More recently I have used Australian bream lures, soft plastics around 2in on light heads.
All of this has been secondary to bass fishing so has never really been pushed to the limits. There is still loads more to learn.
Another thing of note is in Japan they seem to predominantly use yellow plugs when targetting flounder, even in clear water. Not sure that helps or not but I have never used yellow lures for flounder so can't compare. Still time to try it before the bassing picks up aagin.
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