Is anyone on here familiar w/the concept of catching flounder w/1.5-3oz bucktails tipped w/Berkley Gulp? I've been hearing alot of talk latley of this metthod being used to catch large fish on slack tide in the Bay. Please shed some light on this topic if you are familiar w/this. I hear the strikes are vicious and from the words of those who have talked about it, "the only way to catch a flounder." All info would be greatly appreciated.

Never done it, but I've heard that a lot of people do.

I had some good luck a couple weekends ago in shallow water with 1\2 oz. blue and white calcutta jigheads with a white and pink curly tail and a minnow. Learned it from a commercial hand liner and it did the trick well.

thats all i use for flounder.. 3/8-1/2 white or yellow bucklait and 3-4in gulp shrimp.. and the best time ive found is just before slack on the the edges of the second, ocean side near the bridges.. lots of rock and sand mix. havent gone yet this year but looking forward to hitting that spot during a striper trip. last year friend had one break off at the boat with jig in mouth. retied and dropped down.. 20 mins later boated that 26 incher with lost lure still in mouth.. true story.. another boat was there and took a pic. he couldnt believe it either..

I read an article in Saltwater Sportsman about drift fishing for flounder with jigs and decided to give it a shot over the Memorial Day weekend. Here's the rig I plan on using.

Click to view attachment

It's 40 lb florocarbon with a dropper loop 10" above a 2 oz jig. I also have 1 1/2 oz and 1 oz jigs rigged. I'll add another strip bait or a live bait off the dropper loop, the jig is basically acting as the sinker. The Gulp baits I plan on using are the 7" jerk shads, specifically because they are the biggest Gulp available. As you can see I've added a stinger hook on 30 lb florocarbon, just because I hate bringing in a bait with the tail bitten off and not knowing what did the biting. A small taylor blue goes back on the hook whole and alive. A bigger one gets filleted for strip baits. That's plan A. I'll be fishing for 3 days so I may be down to Plan M (Capt Morgan) by the time I'm done. I'll let you know how it works.

nice rigs.. looks like im gonna have to modify mine if you dont mine me copying you..

Tried it last year and got more bites with the gulp!!! The guys at Greentop swear by these and can not keep the chartruse pepper on the shelf.... but the squid minnow sandwich is still tops IMO.

Those are sum perty rigs Marlin

Yes, I recently started using gulps alot more since they produced so well for me last year. I used the Gulp minnow in chartreuse and I was impressed with the numbers I was catching, not to mention quality!!! I like to jig the pilings with them and fish the hampton bar. Highly recommend using gulp for flounder,


-Chris

I actually had good luck with a strip of squid (or gudgeon) along with a red or chartrouese berkley sand eel added.

The 7" jerk shads work great! Fish them around "structure". Not much luck w/ them in open water. I use them on 1.5 to 3 oz. spro jigs. Be prepared to spend alittle money- Jigs @ $3.00+ and gulps @ $7.00+ for 4 baits. If you aren't losing them you aren't in the right place. I'm looking to make some kind of lure retriever that will slide down the line and knock the jig loose, thinking of maybe a 6oz sinker rigged on a snap. You can buy some type of lure retriever but most are designed to grab the hooks- won't work on a jig. If you use braided line, hold on to the rod tight, one almost jerked the rod out of my hand last year. I hope to get out there soon. Good Luck!
DB

Finncatcher, go right ahead. That's one reason why I posted the pic. The other is to get feedback from the other fishermen. Thanks Southern Crush. The second knot my father taught me as a child was the dropper loop, and when targeting bigger flounder I prefer the "stealth" mode. No wire bottom rigs or other mess, just a simple rig with as little visable material as possible. Thus the florocarbon. The one exception to that is if I use a strip bait off the dropper loop, there will be two red beads and a gold spinner ahead of it. A little flash and vibration can't hurt a dead bait. Joe, I'll be fishing out of Wachapreague, so there's not much large structure. I'll be fishing primarily droppoffs, ledges and humps in the bottom, with the occasional shell reef and channel edge. Of course, those are all types of structure, and flounder are a structure oriented fish. We'll see what happens. I am encouraged by the positive comments!

Thanks guys for the input. I've been wanting to try this and it sounds like a winner. I've heard and seen many variations of the rig, I guess one is as good as the other as long as the fish are there. As soon as I can get back out there, I'll try this out and post the results.

I might try that poquoson flat fishing as well while im in the water in my weighters

What size trailer hook are you useing on the jig and brand of hook ?

I use the BassAssens in freashwater brand they are cheaper on the wallit, they have them in all sizes and colors but I havent tried them for this but will be on the next trip out.

The bass assasins might work but the "gulp scent" is what make them work so good. You can buy gulp spray. I'm gonna try some. It comes in squid,crab, shrimp and herring flavors. This would be easier on the wallet. I think it might work well sprayed on the hair of the jig, then maybe the cheaper assasins would be ok. This method of fishing definately isn't cheap, especially if your losing jigs in the structure, but its worth it if you can catch some good size flatties!
DB

Welcome to the board Shawn. I 'm using a #8 red Eagle Claw, but any #8 will do. I just happened to have the red in my box - I use them for spot and the hook blends in with the bloodworm. And I agree with Joe, I don't know that you'll get the same results without the scent of the Gulp bait but give it a shot and let us know how you do!

I did not know they maid it in the spray also. Have you thought about going direct to Berkly and buying them at whole sale? probley be cheaper ?

Thank you for the info this is one great site i have been fishing for 17 years and caught my first citation flounder at 7 yeras old and weighed in at 6lbs off 8lbs test at Organ Inlet. in summer in 87. and love it.

You can order direct from Berkley but you won't save any money.
DB

We fish the spro jigs with the 7" gulp jerk shads on 30# braid . The braid lets ya feel the bite better plus you don't get the bow in the line like you do with mono or flouracarbon line . Another bonus is the small hang-ups ..... braid really helps out with fewer lost jigs .

Duck, you are exactly right on the braid. I use 30 lb Power Pro on all my flounder rods. The increased sensitivity results in many more fish in the box! Also you don't have to use quite as much weight because of the thin diameter and that helps as well. But one thing I always do is cut the first 15 or 20 feet off at the start of each fishing day. It doesn't take much of a nick to have the braid fail.

Most of the bigger flatties I have caught have been using a jig head, I prefer non painted lead, but if painted any in the chartruce or white colors work best, I attatch a nice live Minnow, Finger Mullet, Spot, Sand Perch, Menhaden, or Croaker to the head pushing the hook through the lower jaw and up through the upper jaw (this allows the bait to swim upright) in a natural manner and also allows for a good hook set.

When the bait is retrieved at the same speed as the current it stays just off the bottom (1/2 to 3 feet) and encourages the bigger predators to "Ambush" the bait as it swims within 3 foot readious of the Flounder. Once you have learned how to "Feel" the reaction of the bait on the jig head as it swims along, you can change up to a plastic bait super fluke, jerk bait, tube, strip of cut bait, squid... and achieve the same "Action" resulting in more strikes and fish. Tight Lines

Who makes those buck tails if you dont mind?

Fishman, I'm not sure who made them. I've removed them from the original packaging and tied them onto rigs. I can tell you that I bought them at Bass Pro Shops in Myrtle Beach, so the store in Hampton may very well have them as well. They were not listed on the Bass Pro Shops website. Hope this helps.

Caught them with tandem trout jigs before on slack with long strips of squid. I haven't hit them with it this year but have caught a number of paper fish this way in recent years. Jiging over any structure is productive in and sround the flounder grounds.......Also tried with the gulp grubs and swim shads and have had equal luck.

I didn't know that many of you were using Gulp for flounder but I have been a believer ever since my wife outfished me when I was using real shrimp out in the Gulf. Last year we started using the Gulp Live that comes in pint jars with liquid scent in them. We can re-use baits that aren't torn up and have gotten 'washed out' when the fish aren't co-operating. I have also soaked other brands in the juice and it seems to help so the spray may be the ticket to pick things up with your rig of choice on a slow day. With the new size limit, the bigger the bait, the better the result holds true. Our last trip to Kiptopeke, minnow/squid sandwiches caught more fish but all the keepers were caught on the rigs with Gulp. It's hard to argue with success! and it's nice not to have to catch and keep the bait if your time on the water is already short.

KD, I did real well with the Gulp! baits last month, but there was one bait that did even better. I read about it on this site and decided to give it a shot. Dogfish strips. For those that don't know, Dogfish small sharks that lack real teeth and are everywhere. Their skin is tough as leather. I can cut the strips as big as I like, usually about 1 inch wide and 8 or 9 inches long and they last a long time. Fish can't bite them in half the way they do squid strips. They also swim real well, with an undulating motion almost like an eel. Great stuff and my new "go to" flounder bait! Here's a tip when preparing the dogfish strips - fillet the dogfish and cut the strips with the meat side up, not the skin side. The skin will quickly dull your knife if you cut through from the outside. Also use your knife to cut a small hole in one end of the strip bait for your hook. Even sharp hooks have a tough time going through the skin! Catch 'em up!