Flounder Tactics... That Time of Year Again

[RemoteWanderer]

Getting to that time of year again here on the South Coast, targetting the once humble flounder which has, in recent years, almost become a ghost figure on many south coast marks. Despite this, there's still something about spending a crisp day at a picturesque setting wrapped up warm with a flask in hand that I enjoy and look forward to each year.

I've found flounder an interesting species to target, often focussing on the far reaches of upper estuaries or where channels form among the bends, mudflats or creek inlets. Sometimes they've held in specific areas, sometimes passing through, but down to low water, over the low period, and the push of the flood to a few hours up is often my preference to suit these 'typical' kind of marks which I fish. Due to the nature of these areas, school bass frequently feature and I've noticed their numbers increase over the past few winters. At times it can become a nuisance, restricting the baits from fishing effectively for any amount of time. However, with flounder often so scarce, it's hard to complain having a bend in the rod and I've taken some nice bass on baits intended for flounder, particularly using peeler crabs.

With baits, I've always tried to go with what's about locally and in estuaries this is mostly fresh-dug harbour maddies. With flounder being visual feeders, I try to present these with a few bunched up a fine-wire hook, then head-hooking one or two more to create some additional movement. Peeler crab is another top bait on a lot of venues but in recent years the price and scarcity of crabs makes it hard to justify when freshly dug maddies are available - apart from the occasional mark where crab is almost a necessity. I have also taken them on fresh lug, which is my choice when fishing near extensive lug beds and even back onto where I've dug on beaches/flats, ideally tipped with harbour maddies for movement. Another bait worth considering is razor clam in any areas where razor beds are near, and one bait which I'd like to spend more time experimenting with are live prawns popped up. Like most species, bait effectiveness tends to vary slightly depending on region/location, and when on Shetland I found the top bait there was a generous slither of mackerel.

Rigs can be as simple as desired, and over time I've enjoyed experimenting with various types and ways to present a bait. I started off with running ledgers/bolt rigs and whilst effective, I preferred using a running pat in estuaries where weed is often present. This enables my baits to fish for longer with the vast majority of weed collecting on the weight snood, as opposed to the hook. Something I've started using last year were pop ups, and found this an effective solution for areas where crabs are thick on the ground. In addition to this, popping a bait up slightly can aid in visual attractiveness, where for example worms will have a greater tendency to wriggle about when suspended slightly as they flutter in the tide. Little metal spoons can be used to create another visual attractor when spinning just in front of a bait with a bit of tidal flow required to do this effectively. This taps into the tactic of spinning and trotting with flounder spoons to cover more ground down channels and across mudflats which is a more active approach in finding the fish, as opposed to waiting and intercepting the fish at a certain point of the tide.

Always learning about these fascinating flatfish, and every session is a school day. I mostly fish for them during daylight hours, but do know of flounder being caught at night. It would be interesting to hear of anyone that targets them in the dark and whether they had regular success in doing so??

The above are just a few things I've found which maybe might provide some thought for other anglers too. I'd be interested to hear the tactics/advice of other members on the forum and what's helped yourselves to target this species on those frosty autumnal/winter days.



Tight lines all,

 

[Trampster]

Great write up Wanderer. I personally don't target flounder, but enjoyed reading that.

 

[Mr Fish]

We get plenty in the estuary here, maddies only. I’ve had plenty at night, but… tends to be much smaller fish, seem to get the bigger ones in daylight, though on occasion the exception occurs.
Day time, on an ebb tide and if one spot doesn’t produce, keep moving, 20 yards or so at a time.
That doesn’t always pay off as sometimes it’s a matter of simply waiting for them to switch on, so moving can be counterproductive. The fish are there, just not feeding.
A frustrating game at times…

 

[Wolf]

Nice catch,interesting write up .Tight lines.

 

[Valleyboy]

We get plenty in the estuary here, maddies only. I’ve had plenty at night, but… tends to be much smaller fish, seem to get the bigger ones in daylight, though on occasion the exception occurs.
Day time, on an ebb tide and if one spot doesn’t produce, keep moving, 20 yards or so at a time.
That doesn’t always pay off as sometimes it’s a matter of simply waiting for them to switch on, so moving can be counterproductive. The fish are there, just not feeding.
A frustrating game at times…

Getting to that time of year again here on the South Coast, targetting the once humble flounder which has, in recent years, almost become a ghost figure on many south coast marks. Despite this, there's still something about spending a crisp day at a picturesque setting wrapped up warm with a flask in hand that I enjoy and look forward to each year.

I've found flounder an interesting species to target, often focussing on the far reaches of upper estuaries or where channels form among the bends, mudflats or creek inlets. Sometimes they've held in specific areas, sometimes passing through, but down to low water, over the low period, and the push of the flood to a few hours up is often my preference to suit these 'typical' kind of marks which I fish. Due to the nature of these areas, school bass frequently feature and I've noticed their numbers increase over the past few winters. At times it can become a nuisance, restricting the baits from fishing effectively for any amount of time. However, with flounder often so scarce, it's hard to complain having a bend in the rod and I've taken some nice bass on baits intended for flounder, particularly using peeler crabs.

With baits, I've always tried to go with what's about locally and in estuaries this is mostly fresh-dug harbour maddies. With flounder being visual feeders, I try to present these with a few bunched up a fine-wire hook, then head-hooking one or two more to create some additional movement. Peeler crab is another top bait on a lot of venues but in recent years the price and scarcity of crabs makes it hard to justify when freshly dug maddies are available - apart from the occasional mark where crab is almost a necessity. I have also taken them on fresh lug, which is my choice when fishing near extensive lug beds and even back onto where I've dug on beaches/flats, ideally tipped with harbour maddies for movement. Another bait worth considering is razor clam in any areas where razor beds are near, and one bait which I'd like to spend more time experimenting with are live prawns popped up. Like most species, bait effectiveness tends to vary slightly depending on region/location, and when on Shetland I found the top bait there was a generous slither of mackerel.

Rigs can be as simple as desired, and over time I've enjoyed experimenting with various types and ways to present a bait. I started off with running ledgers/bolt rigs and whilst effective, I preferred using a running pat in estuaries where weed is often present. This enables my baits to fish for longer with the vast majority of weed collecting on the weight snood, as opposed to the hook. Something I've started using last year were pop ups, and found this an effective solution for areas where crabs are thick on the ground. In addition to this, popping a bait up slightly can aid in visual attractiveness, where for example worms will have a greater tendency to wriggle about when suspended slightly as they flutter in the tide. Little metal spoons can be used to create another visual attractor when spinning just in front of a bait with a bit of tidal flow required to do this effectively. This taps into the tactic of spinning and trotting with flounder spoons to cover more ground down channels and across mudflats which is a more active approach in finding the fish, as opposed to waiting and intercepting the fish at a certain point of the tide.

Always learning about these fascinating flatfish, and every session is a school day. I mostly fish for them during daylight hours, but do know of flounder being caught at night. It would be interesting to hear of anyone that targets them in the dark and whether they had regular success in doing so??

The above are just a few things I've found which maybe might provide some thought for other anglers too. I'd be interested to hear the tactics/advice of other members on the forum and what's helped yourselves to target this species on those frosty autumnal/winter days.

View attachment 72983

Tight lines all,

Locally maddies are the only way to catch in daylight and over low. You still need to twitch these until you find the fish. They won't come to you. The start of the flood is pretty unfishable from mid flood on you can't rarely beat blacks, either fresh or properly frozen. Had some nights where prawn has caught more though and bigger fish. Razor just doesn't work at all here, get around the coast a bit and it can be a killer.
Night or day works for me although locally I've had my biggest fish on big static baits at night

 

[Mr Fish]

Locally maddies are the only way to catch in daylight and over low. You still need to twitch these until you find the fish. They won't come to you. The start of the flood is pretty unfishable from mid flood on you can't rarely beat blacks, either fresh or properly frozen. Had some nights where prawn has caught more though and bigger fish. Razor just doesn't work at all here, get around the coast a bit and it can be a killer.
Night or day works for me although locally I've had my biggest fish on big static baits at night

Just maddies here, but I realise bait choice is very localised.
If we fish for them at the estuary mouth they will occasionally take squid strip meant for dabs etc and one would assume, other baits.

But in the estuary proper, it’s just maddies. Some wallies will try with king rag or lug but I wouldn’t even go if that was the bait I had.

 

[RemoteWanderer]

We get plenty in the estuary here, maddies only. I’ve had plenty at night, but… tends to be much smaller fish, seem to get the bigger ones in daylight, though on occasion the exception occurs.
Day time, on an ebb tide and if one spot doesn’t produce, keep moving, 20 yards or so at a time.
That doesn’t always pay off as sometimes it’s a matter of simply waiting for them to switch on, so moving can be counterproductive. The fish are there, just not feeding.
A frustrating game at times…

Interesting to hear your experiences, thanks for sharing. I do love getting out the light gear for them, makes a refreshing change to the heavier stuff for the conger/huss etc. that I often target around the same time. Have you ever used pop ups whilst floundering? Hope all is well mate, tight lines,

 

[RemoteWanderer]

Locally maddies are the only way to catch in daylight and over low. You still need to twitch these until you find the fish. They won't come to you. The start of the flood is pretty unfishable from mid flood on you can't rarely beat blacks, either fresh or properly frozen. Had some nights where prawn has caught more though and bigger fish. Razor just doesn't work at all here, get around the coast a bit and it can be a killer.
Night or day works for me although locally I've had my biggest fish on big static baits at night

Thanks for sharing mate, that's given me more confidence fishing baits into darkness when I usually pack up or get the bigger baits out for bass. Were these raw supermarket prawns or ones you've caught urself, and do you pop these or other baits up from the bottom? Hope all is well, tight lines,

 

[RemoteWanderer]

Great write up Wanderer. I personally don't target flounder, but enjoyed reading that.

Nice catch,interesting write up .Tight lines.

Thank you both, appreciate it and hope all is well with yourselves, tight lines,

 

[Valleyboy]

Thanks for sharing mate, that's given me more confidence fishing baits into darkness when I usually pack up or get the bigger baits out for bass. Were these raw supermarket prawns or ones you've caught urself, and do you pop these or other baits up from the bottom? Hope all is well, tight lines,

Supermarket raw shelled prawns. They need to be handled right. Don't let them defrost in a bag or tub and sit in the juices as the freshwater glaze on the outside washes them out quite quickly. No call for pop ups locally as the tide is normally barrelling through

 

[Valleyboy]

They will come up in the water for baits. I have had them come up for flies or small teasers and bread

 

[Mr Fish]

Interesting to hear your experiences, thanks for sharing. I do love getting out the light gear for them, makes a refreshing change to the heavier stuff for the conger/huss etc. that I often target around the same time. Have you ever used pop ups whilst floundering? Hope all is well mate, tight lines,

Yes I just use flattie rods and 3-4oz leads, or less if I can get away with it.

No, never tried pop ups. They will come up, as Valley says, but tbh there’s really no need as they’ll be feeding on the bottom and a little flow will waft the bait around or slowly trot the rig downstream in any case.
But every area is different. On very very small tides we can usually fish right up to high but the surge is still very strong.
On bigger tides it’s impossible as the actual ‘flood’ only lasts about two hours and all the water comes up the river at once, near enough.
But once the ebb has gone back, in three hours or so, the river will sit at the same level for many hours before the flood returns.
Usually you need a bit of tide going either way but if you find the right spot, they can be caught at ‘dead low’ although as I said, they do switch on and off.
Quite often a sign the flood isn’t far off is when you start getting bites after several slow hours. Even though there’s actually no water moving at that point, the fish seem to know it’s coming.

 

[RemoteWanderer]

Supermarket raw shelled prawns. They need to be handled right. Don't let them defrost in a bag or tub and sit in the juices as the freshwater glaze on the outside washes them out quite quickly. No call for pop ups locally as the tide is normally barrelling through

Yes mate good point with the defrosting, I use them for the hounds but will give them a go on the flounder.

 

[RemoteWanderer]

Yes I just use flattie rods and 3-4oz leads, or less if I can get away with it.

No, never tried pop ups. They will come up, as Valley says, but tbh there’s really no need as they’ll be feeding on the bottom and a little flow will waft the bait around or slowly trot the rig downstream in any case.
But every area is different. On very very small tides we can usually fish right up to high but the surge is still very strong.
On bigger tides it’s impossible as the actual ‘flood’ only lasts about two hours and all the water comes up the river at once, near enough.
But once the ebb has gone back, in three hours or so, the river will sit at the same level for many hours before the flood returns.
Usually you need a bit of tide going either way but if you find the right spot, they can be caught at ‘dead low’ although as I said, they do switch on and off.
Quite often a sign the flood isn’t far off is when you start getting bites after several slow hours. Even though there’s actually no water moving at that point, the fish seem to know it’s coming.

Yes mate that's a very valid point, I think for me there's the element of movement but also for those points in the tide where crabs can strip baits, the pop ups allow the baits to fish much longer. Thanks for the insight, tight lines mate,

 

[Mr Fish]

Yes mate that's a very valid point, I think for me there's the element of movement but also for those points in the tide where crabs can strip baits, the pop ups allow the baits to fish much longer. Thanks for the insight, tight lines mate,

Again I guess it depends where you are but (mostly) this time of year here, the fresh water coming down and then colder temps gets rid of the crabs and bait robbing bass. Mostly.

 

[DaveH]

Long time since I've fished for flounder, but rag was the bait of choice in Sunderland, fishing off the harbour beach (where the RNLI station used to be). A tiny bit of rag on a size 8 hook tied direct to a mainline of about 10lb, weighted with a couple of swanshot and fished on a 10' salmon rod. Good for dabs too.

 

[Another Angle UK]

We have been using small bits of mackerel and pop ups when fishing from the shore. There are some underwater clips of the pop up in action in this video. You can see the flounder darting around after the pop up and the baits.

 

[Mr Fish]

All I would say is in my experience flounder fishing and bait is VERY localised.
I could fish in our local estuary for a week with mackerel and the only things that would thank me are the crabs.

It really is a case of people finding out what works for their local area and if unsure, go down and ask anyone fishing…

 

[Another Angle UK]

Can't agree more. Also, some days they take the mackerel and the next they are more keen on squid. That's fishing.

 

[nearly70ty]

I thought the demise of the flounders was a local thing due to many large fishing competion obviously there's something more going on.