Flounder Bait

[glenallenstriper]

Does anybody use live croaker/spot for flounder or are the bull minnows the way to go? How small would a croaker/spot have to be to use it for bait.

Tom

[little bubba]

Tom.
Every speaker I have ever listened to on catching flounder talks about the peanut bunker. Claim they can be caught just about anywhere. I've thrown my castnet until my arm hurt and am yet to catch one. I put out my minnow trap and catch all the bull minnows I can use. One of the speakers claimed that a 12 inch bait fish is not to big for flounder. Waiting to hear what others have to say. The flounder expert is Capt. Bob Reed. Maybe he will add to this thread. Have used the croaker and spot for Stripers. Perfer the croaker. They dive down much better than the Spot.
Bubba[angel][angel]

[clarkaa777]

had these same questions a week or so ago. check this thread

http://www.tidalfish.com/boards2/viewthread.asp?forum=AMB_AP495059702&id=7631

[Feeshon]

Did they work Clark AA ? Also, try a fresh strip of bluefish on a flounder rig - they can smell it.

Feeshon

[clarkaa777]

well I have only tried it once and I wont say I am an expert by any means. I did not catch any flounder on the live croaker but he was probably 9 in. Did catch about a 4 ft sand shark that put up a nice fight so I would say its worth having one rod rigged that way

[capt. dave]

I would go with a 5-6 inch live bait fish if possible rather than a 9 inch one. A jumbo flounder could take a 9 inch croaker, BUT there aren't that many real jumbo flounder out there around the Cell so you limit your options quite a lot with too big a bait. We use bull minnows and fairly long strips (5-7") of squid, bluefish, flounder belly, and croaker on big spinner rigs and get some big flounder that way. Drifting over the tubes at the CBBT might be a different story.

[capt. dave]

Whacko black box!

[jimpyne]

We have typically used a squid/bull minnow sandwich to good effect. This year we have also been using 6" croaker or bluefish strips. I don't know if it's the color or the smell but the bluefish strips seem to work the best.

[namyrreb]

The flounder rig and strips of cut croker seems to work for me. However I am a rookie in this arena.

[clarkaa777]

yea my problem was I couldnt' catch any smaller croaker so the 9in had to do. never hurts to have one out there. may even run across a random cobia

[Kevin Smith]

I usually stay with bull minnows and/or squid or cut bait like croakers or blue fish.

However I am getting very fond of finger mullet too. Peanut Bunker haven't worked for me yet, but still trying them. You can usually find bunkder and mullet in the creeks. In those same creeks are the small--spot, white perch & croakers. We catch the bait size-spot, perch and croaker on blood worms on hooks so small-it's hard to thread the bait on. Putting the spot out seems to be the best for us Flounder and Trout too!

Kevin
Weekend Mistress

[CREELLIMIT]

A nice long strip of flounder belly, and a bull minnow is hard to beat. Just remember to keep the flounder carcass on board in case you are checked. Sometimes it is tough to sacrafice that fillet, but is has always worked well for me.

[bob reed]

The real key to putting fish in the box is not the size of the bait but the ability of the angler. Day after day I see some anglers successful while others will continually pull the baits away from the fish. You absolutely have to develop a touch for letting the flounder get the bait and hook into their mouth before you jerk it away (btw you do not have to jerk at all.
The most important thing with the baits is that they do not spin and that they are fresh. I have been using strips of croaker about 6 inches long and rigs designed to keep the baits out of the mud.
Extra big minnows are also helpful. Keep in mind that flounder have very small stomachs and feed more that once a day but do not feed when their bellies are full. Usually this means that they are inactive on a dead tide(current). Plan to fish when the current is moving.

[jimpyne]

I agree with Bob. I normally drift with the reel in free spool and use my thumb as a little drag. I let teh flounder take it for a few seconds (it seems like a lot more) then just start reeling. We also fingd that "sure strike" hooks work the best when used in that manner.

[flyinshoes]

Bob-we miss you down on F-dock this year. There's a slip waiting for you!

Mac & Sherry

[GUNNER II]

If you luckey to visit Hatteras,or O.I. hang around the fish cleaning stations & get some dolphin bellies! freeze/cut them into strips like ya do your squid on flounder riggs! croker & spot don't seem to bother the bait that much,but flounder will "slam" it! GUNNER II