| Flounder
On Wireline
Flounder fishing
is one of my favorite summer pastimes. Over the years, I have tried a
multitude of techniques, but I decided that trolling structure with
wireline has been the best technique for catching quality fish (18"
plus). I will try and cover tackle, bait, trolling, and location in this
discussion. My
basic rod and reel for wirelining flounder is a Penn 330 GTi and a custom
rod with .025 single strand stainless wire. My reel has about 150 yards of
wire, that has been backed by 60 pound Dacron (I use this same set up for
wirelining stripers and gray trout). Terminal tackle consists of a 3/0
three way swivel, and 18" sinker leader with a loop tied in the end
and a 12' leader tied to a 6/0 circle hook (a 6/0 "L144F" Eagle
Claw Kahle hook also works fine). I use a circle hook because the flounder
just hook themselves. My leader material is 50 pound mono for the 12'
leader and 80 pound for the sinker leader. The reason for the heavier
sinker leader is that fishing rocky and shell bottom will cause the sinker
line to chafe and quickly break with 50 pound test. I use enough weight
(16 to 32 ounces) to hold bottom slow trolling (as slow as your boat will
troll with the current, fishing the CBBT I troll parallel to the Bridge). I
will not troll into a current (tide), because your boat does not cover
much bottom. As for bait, a strip bait (bluefish, flounder, Boston
mackerel, shark belly, etc.) is my preferred bait. A strip bait is usually
about 3/4" to 1 ½" wide and at least 7" long (big baits
catch big fish). If you use a small minnow and a strip of squid, the
little boys will eat you up. Flounder
fishing in the lower Chesapeake Bay really begins when the water
temperature reaches at least 55 degrees. The flounder will show first in
shallow water, migrating into the Bay and the local tidal rivers. I
usually fish for summer flounder during June through October. Since I
mainly target large flounders, I will fish locations (structure) that hold
them. By
structure, I mean rocky or shelly bottoms, channel edges 30' to 60', the
pilings of the CBBT, the tunnels and islands of the CBBT, artificial
reefs, wrecks, etc. Since flounder feed on smaller fish and small fish
need somewhere to hide (or they get eaten), structure is the ticket. The
reason for the wireline is that it keeps you from losing all your bottom
tackle when you get too close to a piling, reef, wreck or the rocks of the
CBBT. I have tried Power Pro and Spider Wire (which are great when
drifting channel areas, but are not suitable for the structure of the CBBT).
The reason I troll instead of drift, is that trolling covers a lot more
bottom. Once
you catch a flounder it is very important to mark the spot on you GPS or
Chart Plotter where you were successful. Fish the area where you were
successful, marking additional bites. Pretty soon a pattern will develop
and the flounder will show up in the same area over and over again. On a
typical fishing trip we would launch at Fort Monroe and go the Hampton
Bar, Keep
your bait as fresh as you can (dirty baits do not seem to work). Do not be
afraid to strip up the white side of the 20" flounder, because his
parents are much bigger than he is! If you desire, skirts, plastic squid,
etc, can be added to pretty up you presentation, but a fresh naked strip
bait will do the trick. I try and hook my strip bait by the edge of the
skin so that it swims and does not spin. I do not want my bait balled up.
You do not have to set the hook when you feel the pull of a flounder, just
drop your rod tip, count to 10 slow, and wind him in. With circle hooks,
they hook themselves. Once you catch Bubba, stay in the area, he lives
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