Catching Deepwater Flounder

Most of us think of flounder as a relatively shallow water target. This makes perfect sense, since they can be found in bays, passes, and the surf. Truth be told, however, deeper structures out in the ocean often hold good concentrations of flatfish. In fact, the 50 to 100 foot depths can produce flounder catches that are totally off the hook. If, that is, you fish for them a bit differently. The Texas flounder fishery opens back up mid December so now is a good time to learn more about catching them in deep watwer.

Forget about the jigs and light tackle. In deeper waters they just don’t have the weight needed to reach and hold bottom, especially in a strong breeze and/or current. Sure, there will be rare occasions where a couple of ounces will cut it. But as a general rule out in the ocean you’ll need heavier tackle and weights. Accordingly, you’ll also need to choose a combo with braid line in the 30 to 40 pound test range and the ability to handle four to eight ounces of weight.

Rig up with the standard “fluke killer” type rigs, with a 40- to 50-pound test leader, beads and a spinner, and a bucktail or tinsel teaser. Double rigs with upper and lower offerings generally work best. But rather than reaching for a minnow or some squid, bait the hook with a five-inch Gulp! Swimming Mullet. Don’t thread this offering on the hook – strange as it may look, run the hook through the tip of the Gulp! about a quarter of an inch from the end. Then, weight it down as necessary to keep the rig dragging along the bottom.

Locate structure such as a wreck, reef, or hump. However, unlike regular bottom fishing on structure, don’t get right on top of it. Instead, when you arrive at the spot shift into neutral and let the natural forces take over for a minute or two. While doing so, focus on your chartplotter and watch the boat’s trail to find out exactly what direction your boat will be drifting in. Then set your boat up not to drift across the structure, but to drift as close as possible alongside it. If you’re in an area with scattered structure, drift through the debris field. Deepwater flounder usually won’t be found sitting atop the structure but often hide in the scour holes and trenches surrounding it.

When you hook up mark the spot, and try a similar drift. While flounder aren’t exactly schooling fish they do like hang out in similar areas, and a single piece of well-positioned structure could hold dozens of flatfish.

Lenny Rudow