# Surf flounder fishing?



## aln (May 29, 2006)

I haven't had the chance to flounder fish the NC beaches much in the last couple (10) years and I realize things have changed alot with the intro of the new lines and artificial scent baits baits so I'm looking for a little advice. When I was at HJ's last year they were making up red headed jigs by the dozen .. and I saw a resident walking the north beach tossing one with an artificial minnow on it so I figure there must be something to it. Back in the day when I did have the chance to fish I used a 7' rod with a small shimano spinner reel loaded with 10 lb. test mono. Used a regular flounder/circle hook with live mud minnows or fingers and fished the troughs and sloughs around the bars. When the flounder made the initial hit, ya wait .. then set the hook and reel 'em in. now with the new lines and artificials do you still do the same? I figure the fluoro lines with smaller diameters cast farther/better and have more sensativety but do the fish still take the artificials like they take the live baits?


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## pods (Sep 10, 2013)

I was a carolina rig and mullet guy for the longest time. Started using a spro bucktail and Gulps. They will outfish live bait.
Check out some of these vids by John Skinner (off long island)
This one is underwater and the flukes go nuts! You can check out all of his videos. He absolutely kills them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv9-k1wuRMc

I actually don't use the double hook setup (he has videos of how to tie a double rig) due to not wanting bluefish to kill my gulps.
Try them out. Insane how well they take to them. Only thing that might be better than a gulp would be a long piece of flounder belly, imho.
I won't be using live again. No need.


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## Captain Awesome (Jul 27, 2010)

Got a few flounder a couple years ago in Corolla using a Carolina rigged gulp swimming mullet, by just reeling slowly enough to keep it near bottom. I have a few spro jigs I am going to try this year. Just a question for those that fish gulp (for anything) in the surf. Do you typically cast straight out or give it a bit of an angle to work. I have always cast straight on an out going tide, but on an angle incoming.


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

When I was a Child fishing Kitty Hawk in the 1960's there was an old Flounder Fisherman who taught me how to catch them

He used only two inch long slender triangles of Flounder belly and he walked up and down the beach with his bait rolling around right at the first drop

He covered a lot of ground and he all ways had a few fish in a wet burlap bag he carried with him over his shoulder, he walked bare foot and was deeply tanned, I cannot remember his face it has been so long ago but I certainly can remember his delight and smile when he showed me his morning's catch of a plump firm three to four pound flounder

He only kept one or two at the most and let the small ones go to live another day

At the time he called it a Flounder rig but it was what was later called a Carolina rig with a 1/2-1 oz egg sinker and two foot leader trace with a single hook

The man was the first truly proficient fisherman I ever met and I am indebted to him for showing a young tourist boy how it is done

My Father was not a fisherman, but he did keep a sharp edge on his knife and he took the time to cut Flounder Belly baits for me and I caught my share back in the day


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

+1 on skinners method if u need to fan cast and cover a lot of water, faster/more efficient than crawling a gulp shrimp or c-rigged mullet along the ocean floor...i like the double hook set up


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## childress (Jul 1, 2013)

Garboman said:


> When I was a Child fishing Kitty Hawk in the 1960's there was an old Flounder Fisherman who taught me how to catch them
> 
> He used only two inch long slender triangles of Flounder belly and he walked up and down the beach with his bait rolling around right at the first drop
> 
> ...


awesome story


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## StillSearchin (Apr 9, 2007)

Those Skinner videos are really cool. Last October I spent some time out on Oceanana Pier in Atlantic Beach. One day the water was very calm and clear in the surf zone and from the high perspective of the pier you could see flounder on the bottom in shallow water. Casting a plain jighead with a white gulp with bright yellow tail, it was easy to follow the jig and see when the jig disappeared. Sometimes you could see the fish and sometimes you could just see the jig disappear. Amazing how they can mouth the bait without you even being able to feel anything when you are retrieving the bait real slow. I notice Skinner says he moves the bait about 1 to 1.4 mph which I think would greatly improve your ability to feel the take.


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## psudukie (May 22, 2010)

Watch the video of his retrieve on the surf.. or inlet as it is.. it certainly is more then a drag... or slow bounce.. and he produces a couple very nice fish.

I enjoy watching all his videos and his ability to share information. I am surprised we dont have someone in north carolina going over the tactics for carolina surf fishing given the choice of species we have ... blues.. red drum/ black drum... pomps... flounder... trout.... spanish macks.... just a thought.


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## StillSearchin (Apr 9, 2007)

psudukie,
Lots of info available on the web on all those species, but honestly it will be tough to find the detail offered in Skinner's videos and book. 

How's them Nittany Lions shaping up for the upcoming football season?


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## psudukie (May 22, 2010)

Lions will be fine but now looking foreRd to a week on Emerald Isle catching some of the for mentioned fishes.


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## dirtyhandslopez (Nov 17, 2006)

Cool vids, thanks for sharing. 
Had always though flatties more or less hung out hiding on the bottom, waiting for prey. Video shows they like a chase and will even swim neck and neck for a while then turn and attack.
Whodathunkit


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## ecks (Jun 24, 2007)

I use a double jig (heavy then 18 inch leader attached to lighter jig) with Gulp or other soft plastic with scent applied. Second, Carolina rig 24 to 36 inch leader with a squid strip or other long slender cut bait. 
Fan cast the beach, slowly drag across bottom, reel in slack, repeat, all the way in. Pay close attention when close to beach. 
Flounder love a moving bait. 
If snappers start to nip your Gulp tails off just use the Gulp heads for scent and thread on a cheap twister tail.


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## gshivar (Aug 29, 2006)

Interesting thread. I have always liked to target flounder in the surf - IN THE FALL. My favorite rig is a jig head with a short white grub. (Mann's string ray grub) or bucktail. Add a slinder strip of popeye mullet and fish along the wash or bar drop-off. Problem in NC -you will catch very few keepers at 15 inches. Best - glenn


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## Phaedrus (Mar 25, 2011)

I built Skinners rig. I fished it exactly how he did in his video in the inlet. I landed the biggest flounder I have ever caught in front of all of the locals (i am not one) at Rudee on Wednesday night (around 24-26 inch). I am definitely going to buy his book now.


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## SurFeesher (May 5, 2010)

Awesome video. Real eye opener for how Flounder hunt and attack. Always thought you had to drag bait almost over top of them. Now I gotta watch the above water video.


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## psudukie (May 22, 2010)

Watch the video floudering from shore.. his retrieve is know where near as slow as i thought you had to be and what i had been taught... not saying he is fast but he keeps his bait moving for sure once it settles to the bottom. I have typically slowly hopped or drug a bait in the surf.. this certain gives me something new to try and to observe.

Again i think it would be fun for someone.. obviously way more knowledgeable then me to do a series for NC fishing.. we have a diverse fishery from the surf and many species to target.



SurFeesher said:


> Awesome video. Real eye opener for how Flounder hunt and attack. Always thought you had to drag bait almost over top of them. Now I gotta watch the above water video.


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## pods (Sep 10, 2013)

The one thing that Skinner does that many other videos about flounder fishing do not is he sets the hook on pickup. Lots of old adages about waiting to set it. I have always set the hook when you feel them. Mainly from the area I like to flounder fish having a lot of blue crabs that will tear up a mullet in no time. So my retrieve is pretty quick and I set the hook on strike. Works well for jigs too, although if there are a lot of dinks (pinfish) around you will lose tails off your gulp from time to time. I tend to use a bit larger jigs to help shield the curly tail this way. Flounder are usually very aggressive so a faster retrieve works well for me.


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