[hawkman]

Hi guys,

I bought and fished with mud minnows from the surf for the first time ever a few weeks ago, rather than the frozen or fresh shrimp/squid options. Rewarded with a couple flounder (small). The minnows were rather small - maybe 3 inches long at the most. Would it be better to find larger mud minnows? The guy at Chasin' Tails just scooped what they had from the tank. Only one tank with minnows. I guess I could've asked for the biggest out of the net. Some were pretty small. Late in the day, every minnow I cast had only a head left cut of with an arc the diameter of a nickel or quarter right at the gill plate...blues?

I didn't bring a cast net because of zero luck the last few times, but of course the wash was "awash" with nice baitfish. Do any of you always bring the cast net for bait from the surf?

Seeing as I'm usually fishing with a day-trip with the wife and four kids (+ a niece of nephew usually), I can't really drag em around while I castnet into other waters first.


So, basically, looking for your opinions on minnow size (if it matters and where to get) for flounder in the surf.

We usually go to Emerald Isle/Salter Path but may try Coquina Beach (or north). Possibly Ocracoke, but the ferries make it hard to work out. Either I can't get the latest ferry back or it's just too short a stay by the time you arrive...
Of course, I could go the bucktail/ gulp + gulp chaser rig I suppose...

 

[River]

My biggest Flounder came from Pine Knoll Shores, the now history Iron Steamer Pier, it was about 3:00 pm and me and my Uncle Avery were calling it a day ... there was one little mud minnow left in the bucket .... I stuck it on a hook dang near bigger than the minnow..... my Uncle laughed when I threw it near the wreck ... but soon as it hit the bottom it began to move toward the wreck slowly, I set the hook and wasn't ready for the fight to keep him outta the wreck .... but I did ..... 8 lb 11 Oz's on the littlest mud minnow in the bucket ... but now I mainly use Gulp Swimming Mullet but haven't got another one over 6 lb since.. Good Luck ..... River

 

[SmoothLures]

I like 3-5" mullet when you can get them. A 2 lb flounder can swallow a 6" mullet but he needs time. Unless the bait shop has two tanks with regulars and jumbos, you just buy mud minnows. They can't really pick out the big ones for everyone.

Your bait stealers were probably small blues, pup sharks, and pufferfish will cut a perfect semi circle out of a live mud minnow but they're usually a colder water fish.

I like 1/0 Owner SSW hooks for mud minnows and live shrimp and a kahle hook for bigger live mullet. Size the hook to the bait. No need for a 3/0 kahle on a 2-3" mud minnow but you need it for a 5-6" mullet for example.

They'll also eat bucktails and Gulp, strips of cut bait, and little fish you catch like live pinfish, spot, and croaker. Small menhaden if you can catch them and keep them alive are great. They're not really picky usually, unless the mullet are thick then they might turn down other live baits.

 

[hawkman]

.... 8 lb 11 Oz's on the littlest mud minnow in the bucket ... but now I mainly use Gulp Swimming Mullet but haven't got another one over 6 lb since...

I don't know if I've caught a flounder more than 2" longer than the minimum size limit. I'd be ecstatic with 4 lbs!

 

[hawkman]

Smoothlures and River. Thanks for the input.

 

[Fish'n Phil]

Saw a flounder rig which you are supposed to rig with two minnows on the same hook. Or you could combine minnow and strip of squid. Also seen speck rigs tipped with squid strips. Like Smooth Lures said cut bait also works well...caught flounder on strips of croaker. My best flounder was on a live menhaden...they can take big baits.

 

[flatty]

I've found it's much easier fishing with a jig/gulp combination in the surf for flounder. Simple to use and you can cover a lot of ground with a 5 gallon bucket, couple bags of gulps, pliers, and a few jigs. If they are there, you will catch them. I've had multiple days in the fall of 15+ flounder in just a 2-3 hour period, only a few keepers each time though. Best thing is you can easily make a few casts, if no hits, move on down the beach to a spot that catches your eye and try again.

 

[hawkman]

Thanks Fish'nPhil.

flatty - It'd be easier to do what you say than carry a 5-gal bucket with water and minnows from the parking lot at the public access, along with the family's stuff to a quiet spot on the beach!

This past weekend though - I almost had major success with a bucktail/gulp with a gulp teaser (a la John Skinner on youtube). I wrote about this in my thread under NC called "Disappointed @ Emerald Isle...". I was casting this rig and walking along and all of a sudden there was no give whatsoever. For lack of a better term, I tried to set the hook and after one more good tug (by me), it was gone. I felt like it was a flounder. Was told I need to give it some time.

 

[River]

IMO .... little Flounder up to 14" approx will bump your Gulp, you can feel em nibbling because of their smaller mouth's....... 14" approx on up to 3 or 4 lbs will inhale it into their mouth without it touching the sides and clamp down on it, they may lay there a while sucking on it before eating it ...... I think Jimmy Price says it feel like you hooked a old shoe, you can actually pull em a little ways sometimes but a hard pull, they'll turn loose if they haven't ingested it yet ..... 30 is a good count but I've lost em after counting to 60. ..... now 4 or 5 lbs on up, I've found em to be more aggressive ..... when they inhale something as small as a gulp, it can easily go clean to their stomach because of the size of their mouth and gullet .... the reason big Flounder love a big bait ..... just my opinion .... good luck, River

 

[Shanep]

Hi guys,

I bought and fished with mud minnows from the surf for the first time ever a few weeks ago, rather than the frozen or fresh shrimp/squid options. Rewarded with a couple flounder (small). The minnows were rather small - maybe 3 inches long at the most. Would it be better to find larger mud minnows? The guy at Chasin' Tails just scooped what they had from the tank. Only one tank with minnows. I guess I could've asked for the biggest out of the net. Some were pretty small. Late in the day, every minnow I cast had only a head left cut of with an arc the diameter of a nickel or quarter right at the gill plate...blues?

I didn't bring a cast net because of zero luck the last few times, but of course the wash was "awash" with nice baitfish. Do any of you always bring the cast net for bait from the surf?

Seeing as I'm usually fishing with a day-trip with the wife and four kids (+ a niece of nephew usually), I can't really drag em around while I castnet into other waters first.


So, basically, looking for your opinions on minnow size (if it matters and where to get) for flounder in the surf.

We usually go to Emerald Isle/Salter Path but may try Coquina Beach (or north). Possibly Ocracoke, but the ferries make it hard to work out. Either I can't get the latest ferry back or it's just too short a stay by the time you arrive...
Of course, I could go the bucktail/ gulp + gulp chaser rig I suppose...

I don't think size of live bait matters much. A bigger bait is more likely to get bit in two leaving you with the part with the hook in it most of the time.

I always bring a cast net and a livewell and I will use whatever I catch in it. When that's not working I will sabiki small whiting and pinfish out of the wash for live bait.

EI/Salterpath is fine fishing

 

[keeter]

Hey Flatty, how and at what speed are you working your jig? I've always been a rig surf fisher but am looking to expand my arsenal. I have freshwater fished texas rigs but wasn't sure if you needed to be sloooooooooow. Bump it around for a few seconds and let it sit for 30 secs? 1 min? I assume that straight steady retrieve won't yield flounder but will catch blues, drum, spanish etc?

 

[SmoothLures]

Hey Flatty, how and at what speed are you working your jig? I've always been a rig surf fisher but am looking to expand my arsenal. I have freshwater fished texas rigs but wasn't sure if you needed to be sloooooooooow. Bump it around for a few seconds and let it sit for 30 secs? 1 min? I assume that straight steady retrieve won't yield flounder but will catch blues, drum, spanish etc?

I like hopping and bouncing it a lot, but reeling pretty slow. Constantly moving is fine with jigs. You can speed up for trout and pups.

I have caught a good number of flounder like John Skinners videos on YouTube. It's really easy. But I much prefer 1/4, 3/8th, and 1/2 oz jigs vs the 1 oz he mentions. I want it hopping around up to 6" off the bottom and that can be hard with a big jig. The teaser 10-12" up catches a lot of the fish, probably because of it's visibility vs being in the sand.

Fish it all the way to your feet...don't wade out.

 

[River]

I do close to the same thing as smoothlures, but I drop my rod tip and do a slow drag raising my rod tip then I crank down and do it again trying to stay in contact with the jig/jigs so I can feel a slight tap or thump from a Flounder inhaling it ...once I feel that tap, I drop my rod tip for a few seconds .... then tighten up slowly hoping it feels stuck ...... I like two jigs sometime with the smaller 16th or 8th oz jighead about 18" in front of a 3/8 or 1/2 oz jighead ..... they can definitely be right at your feet .....

 

[flatty]

When i'm surf fishing for flounder I usually fish 2 to 3 hours before low tide until 1hr after the turn. It's difficult to fish this setup in rough water, windy conditions, or a crashing high tide. I agree with a lot of what Smoothlures and River are saying. I use a medium spinning outfit in the 7ft range with 10lb flouro. Jig weight either 3/8 or 1/2 ounce. Most importantly use white gulps, they love them. Some folks like to use the gulp shrimp but I prefer the gulp swimming mullet(4 inch).

I usually bump it and reel up the slack, most of the time imo they hit it on the fall. I fish it pretty slow most of the time but try different things to see if it will make a difference. As far as hook set, i don't let them have it much. You will feel a bump or tap usually, within a second of that i hit them. I have missed a few but usually catch them in the jaw, i also slightly open the hook, just a little, kind of like for trout. Most of them hit it at the berm, so trying to cast it 100 yards is not important. I've actually had a couple follow the jig up into the wash. Never caught one as big as i have with live bait but if they are there you will have plenty of action and will get a few keepers. I'd say the month of October is the best time. Plus you never know when you might latch onto a puppy drum or speck while you are at it.