This Tackle MISTAKE Helped Me Catch More Flounder
- By: Wyatt Parcel
- on
We all make mistakes, but little did I know THIS tackle mistake helped me catch more flounder!!!
This is a fun story that might just help you catch more flounder on your next fishing trip.
Take a look right here!!
Tackle MISTAKE Helped Me Catch More Flounder [VIDEO]
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Most of my flounder fishing is centered around fishing depth changes, ledges, or cuts in the bottom structure and I avoid targeting them up on the flats.
I do know that flounder are there, however, are often tough to dial in on.
Last week I uncovered a little tackle mistake I was making that actually helped me catch more flounder.
So if you are heading out and targeting flounder specifically, this is a great tip to keep in your back pocket.
My Mistake
I was fishing topwater lures all morning when I came up on a school of redfish and black drum.
Upon seeing those schools of fish, I quickly tried to change over to a paddletail lure.
Normally, I turn for a 1/8 oz. hook when fishing near schools of fish or for sight fishing.
It is a little bit easier to control than a hook with a heavier weight to it and it sits higher in the water column making it easier for you to see.
In my haste and scramble to get a paddletail lure tied on, I actually grabbed a 3/16 oz. hook instead of a 1/8 oz.
That will directly cause my lure to sit lower in the water.
Without knowing, I was casting this slightly heavier jig over potholes surrounding the flat that were absolutely filled with flounder.
I did not realize this at the time but because my lure was closer to the bottom, the flounder were more willing to chase down and strike the lure.
I actually thought a redfish was chasing my lure down because of the lengths these flounder were going to go for a meal.
All I needed to do was simply use a slightly heavier weight.
If my lure was just a bit higher in the water column, the flounder might see it as a task to chase down and ignore it.
There is a lot of small bait around which is why I lean for the Slam Shady 2.0.
The 3.5-inch paddletail is a perfect size to use for this type of fishing.
Retrieves
As far as to retrieve speed, you want to bounce your lure nice and slow over potholes.
You do not want to reel your lure in too fast because it could quickly leave the flounder’s field of vision.
Flounder have a very small window to see your lure due to restrictions in their vision.
If you reel your lure in too fast, they might not be able to see it.
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Conclusion
Always try to learn from your mistakes!
In this case, one of my mistakes actually helped me land more flounder than I even thought were in front of me.
If you are heading out targeting flounder any time soon, be sure to think about the weight of your hooks and how that impacts where your lure swims in the water column.
Do you have any questions about how this mistake helped me catch more flounder?
Let me know what you think down in the comments section below!
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Like I have always said for me for flounder and reds after the top water bite is done here in Jacksonville Florida’s murky water a gold bladed with a red quarter ounce Jughead and a chartreuse tailed paddletail on a spinnerbait is my go to slow rolled while bumping on the bottom really gets them going I have seen flounder travel for more then 20 yards following my spinnerbait before deciding to hot so all I can say to that is it works for me 😉
There are lots of flounder in the creek off my dock in South Carolina. I started using the Slam Shady last year. While catching every species of fish in this area, at least 95% of the flounder I catch are on the Slam Shady. I retrieve it as you describe, and they absolutely crush it. The flounder I’m catching hit it more than live bait to include mud minnows, finger mullet and even live shrimp. Simply amazing!
Yup! They’re quite an interesting species, and extremely easy to pattern in! Thanks for checking this tip out!