MY SWINE FLUKE

[WAHOONBOX]

I MUST CONFESS I HAVE NEVER CAUGHT A STUD FLOUNDER...OR FLUKE...WHICHEVER IT IS TO BE CALLED.I ALMOST CAUGHT ONE YEARS BACK....HAD IT RIGHT TO THE EDGE OF THE BOAT AND COULDN'T FIND MY NET

YEARS AGO, I WAS IN THE LATE OTIS FISH MARKET MHC AND THERE WAS A 13 LBER CHILLING OUT ON A BED OF ICE....MMMMMMM

"ILL TAKE THAT ONE PLEASE"....."THE WHOLE THING ? " she asked. ....."YES PALEEESE"

I REFROZE THE MAT AND EACH TIME I WENT CRUISIN TO SHACKELFORD BANKS THAT SUMMER, I TOOK MY FROZEN SWINE FLUKE WITH ME IN CASE I NEEDED SOME YOU KNOW...BRAGGING RIGHTS....YOU KNOW, IF ONE OF MY BUDS CRUISED BY AND ASKED HOW WAS FISHING, I WOULD REACH IN MY COOLER AND HOLD UP MY DOOR MAT.

I MUST OF RE-FROZE THE THING A HALF DOZEN TIMES.

NOW SHOW ME YOUR SWINE AND PLEASE SHARE WITH THE WORLD YOUR TECHNIQUE FOR SUCCESS.....OTIS'S IS NOW CLOSED DOWN AND I HAVE NO OTHER SOURCE AND I NEED YOUR HELP.....PICS OF YOUR RIG WILL BE SWEET!

[Double D]

I caught a 7 pounder when I was about 6 and haven't beat it yet

Kind of embarrassing when all my buds have fish in the teens

But I just got a load of saltyron bucktails, so maybe this is my year

Lets see the pics of those doormats

[giantfan]

Sorry but I cant find any pictures of large fluke right now.... this is the best I could find.

Freddy (RIP Buddy) and a couple of Montauk flatties from a couple of years ago.


My biggest is around 8lbs... nothing to brag about for sure.

Here is the rig I use.... just a 6/0 Gami with a fishfinder rig.
We will drift for the fluke "summer flounder" and bounce our baits on the bottom... I like to use fluke belly for bait or live snappers (baby bluefish)

While bouncing along the bottom with your bait.... when I feel a weight on the line I will give it some freespool and let the fish work up the bait to the hook... after about a 5 count I will give it a slight tension and see if he is still there... If so, it's time to cross his eyes.

I will look in some old photo albums later and see if I can find a bigun for ya.

[Squidnation]

It'll take some digging but I caught a 6.5lb flounder - I think that was the weight on a red/white gotcha plug while casting at bluefish with OCCaptain Al a few springs ago. What a surprise!

[clt_capt]

Not mine, but...

[Bird Dog]

I don't have any pictures of the doormats. Early in the season we use your basic 3 way swivel rig with the squid/minnow combo. Mid to late summer it's all live spot or croaker.


Here are the rigs I make






and for the big boys

[Robja]

Then this must be you Fred

[Skipjack1]

I found typical flounder drifting to be unproductive for me.

I now jig structure with braided line - spinning tackle, and jig head on a four foot leader (20-30 lb mono/flouro). Rubble, bridge pilings, oyster bars, and wrecks all hold flatfish. The GULP plastics have been very effective on a gotcha jig head. They INHALE them. We limited out on flounder several trips the past two summers up to 26 inches. I think that is 6 or 7 lbs?

[Five4Fighting]

I drift artificial reefs and rocky bottom for flounder. I use a single hook rig. My weight is attached with a dropper loop. If my leader is say 40 lbs. test my dropper loop is 20 lbs. test. That way if I get hung up on the junk I break off the sinker and not the entire rig.

I have no pictures here at work... Sorry

Edit: Other than my avatar

[calebw]

My biggest flounder was 8.5 pounds caught two years ago, right of the dock at Olde Town. My rig is just a simple carolina rig, 1 ounce weight, 18-20" of 25lb calcutta flouro leader to a 4/O Kahle hook with the biggest live finger mullet you can find.