Best Flounder Fishing with Gulp Shrimp Tips and Techniques
Gulp shrimp fishing lures are just about the best choice for flounder fishing that there is. Those white 3 inch or 4 inch Gulp shrimp bodies coupled with a 1/8 or 1/4 ounce chartreuse jig head bounced within 6 inches of the bottom is the best way to catch flounder.
The hardest part about flounder fishing is the technique. Many people will fail to catch flounders when they are using jigs and other lures because they fish them way too quickly.
Flounder like it slow and low. That means that your retrieve has to be a very slow one to get the flounders' attention and give them enough time to come and get your lure. A flounder is not going to aggressively follow a fast moving lure and eat it. They just won't do that.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the grass flats, mangroves, oyster bars and just about everywhere else in Florida for more than 40 years.
In the article below, I will teach you everything that I know about catching flounders with Gulp shrimp and other baits and lures.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below and catch more flounders with Gulp shrimp.
Gulp shrimp fishing lures are just about the best choice for flounder fishing that there is. Those white 3 inch or 4 inch Gulp shrimp bodies coupled with a 1/8 or 1/4 ounce chartreuse jig head bounced within 6 inches of the bottom is the best way to catch flounder.
The hardest part about flounder fishing is the technique. Many people will fail to catch flounders when they are using jigs and other lures because they fish them way too quickly.
Flounder like it slow and low. That means that your retrieve has to be a very slow one to get the flounders' attention and give them enough time to come and get your lure. A flounder is not going to aggressively follow a fast moving lure and eat it. They just won't do that.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the grass flats, mangroves, oyster bars and just about everywhere else in Florida for more than 40 years.
In the article below, I will teach you everything that I know about catching flounders with Gulp shrimp and other baits and lures.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below and catch more flounders with Gulp shrimp.
Flounder Fishing with Gulp Shrimp Around Docks
Docks are a great place to target flounders with Gulp shrimp. The key to finding the flounder around the docks is to find moving water and bait. They like to ambush their prey. Flounders will bury in the sand or gravel and wait for a shrimp, crab or small fish to come close enough for them to eat.
When you find a dock with a nice current and some prey items for a flounder to eat, then you have the recipe for some fun flounder fishing.
In my opinion, there is no better bait for flounders than a Berkeley Gulp 3 inch shrimp on a jig head. It is really as simple as that. If you want to catch a bunch of flounder, then use that lure to maximize your chances.
* I am not sponsored by Berkeley Gulp or any of the other lure companies that I speak about in my articles. I only tell you about those lures because I like them and they work.
I use 4 different colors of Gulp shrimp when I fish different scenarios. White is my number one choice. I also use molting, new penny and root beer. White works best in clean and clear water and the others work best when the water is somewhat dirty.
Remember what I said earlier about keeping your lures slow and low. Flounders are the tortoises of the fish world. They are not swimming anywhere fast so they rely upon a quick pounce to secure their food needs.
The strike zone for a flounder is about 18 inches from the bottom. Any higher than that and they probably won't bother to hit your lure. You want to keep your baits and lures close to the bottom or on the bottom for best results.
The best technique for working your Gulp shrimp and jig head combination is to bounce it on the bottom and pause during your slow retrieves. You cannot retrieve your lure too slowly for a flounder. You can practically just drag it on the bottom and still catch flounder when they are hungry.
My retrieve goes something like this: Cast; let it sink to the bottom; twitch, twitch, pause; reel about 10 feet and repeat the process all the way back to where I am. If you think that you are retrieving your lure too slowly, then you are wrong. There is no such thing when it comes to flounder fishing with jigs.
The amazing thing about dock pilings is that accumulation of living mass on those pilings. There will be sponges, barnacles, oysters, mussels, marine plants and much more. Those living things attract shrimp, crabs and small fish to them. There is an entire ecosystem that can live right on the dock pilings.
All of that life attracts predators like the flounder. The flounder has figured out that all of those creatures that it loves to eat will live on or near those dock pilings. That is why they are such a great place to find some flounders.
The key to fishing the docks is to get your Gulp shrimp and jig under the dock between the dock pilings. That is the most likely place that a flounder will be dug in and waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting victim.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in great detail how to catch a flounder. You can read that article by clicking right here.
It can take some very expert casting to get at those dock flounders but it is worth the effort to practice your casting accuracy. A good dock might have 3 or 4 flounders under it. They often are in small groups of fish.
Don't forget to fish the shallow end of the docks when you are trying to figure out where the flounders are hiding. They will be in 18 inches of water if there is bait in the shallow water.
When I fish a dock, I will fish the entire dock from a foot deep all the way to the deep end of it. When you methodically cover the entire dock, then you can move to the next dock and repeat the process until you figure out where all of the feeding fish are at.
WANT TO CATCH FLOUNDER? BOOK YOUR FISHING CHARTER TODAY!
You might have to fish 30 docks before you find the fish. You will find that the majority of the fish will be in one area. That area might have the right water temperatures; the right current; the right bait or whatever it is that the fish are interested in.
You have to keep fishing until you find where all of the feeding fish are. The biggest mistake that fishermen make is fishing in a spot where there are no feeding fish.
They will fish a spot because it looks fishy even though they are not getting any bites. They will waste their time fishing in a dead zone. You must avoid fishing a dead zone regardless of how fishy it looks.
Keep moving until you find the feeding fish. You must find life. Look for diving birds or predatory activities of some sort. Then you know that there are feeding fish around.
Watch the video below and catch more flounders around docks.
Flounder Fishing with Gulp Shrimp near Oyster Bars
Oyster bars are another great place to catch a whole bunch of flounders. Oyster bars are another one of those places that attracts marine life. The oyster clumps will have crabs under them in the mud and around them. There will be small shrimp and fish taking refuge among the sharp oyster shells and a myriad of other creatures too.
Predators like flounder and redfish love to hunt around the oyster bars for food. They like to bury in the gravel that is made up of the crushed oysters. They will usually be facing right into the current in an area that brings their food right to them.
My favorite scenario is a tidal creek with oyster bars on both sides that is small enough to cast my Gulp shrimp across. Everything in that creek must come between those two oyster bars with the incoming and outgoing tide.
That is a great place for a flounder to set up an ambush for some food. It is also a great place for a flounder pounder like you to set up to catch a whole bunch of flounders.
The technique for flounder fishing with a gulp shrimp is real easy when you are bouncing the bottom. Remember to keep it slow and low to catch flounders.
Cast your Gulp shrimp and jig combo up current and bounce it slowly along the bottom back to you. Do that over and over until you cover the entire bottom and then move to another likely flounder spot and repeat the process.
Another great way to use a Gulp shrimp is under a popping cork. This works very will for redfish, speckled trout and of course flounder. You will want to find an area that is less than 3 feet deep for best results.
You will tie your jig so that it is about 6 to 12 inches off of the bottom as it floats with the current. You have to make sure that it is above the oysters or any other hang ups or you will lose a ton of jigs on the oyster bars.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in much more detail the various baits and lures that work to catch flounders. You can read that article by clicking right here.
Just give it a twitch, twitch every few feet as it moves with the tidal current. I don't even reel to retrieve the combination of the popping cork and Gulp shrimp. All that I do is reel in the slack as it approaches me.
Slow and low, remember?
When your cork stops moving you need to set your hook. It might be caught on an oyster or it might be in the mouth of a nice flounder. Either way, you have to set that hook or the flounder will spit out the lure.
Flounder Fishing with Gulp Shrimp on Hard Bottoms
Any hard bottoms like old limestone reefs and ledges are another great spot to catch flounders. There is inevitably crushed limestone sand in the potholes of those ancient reefs where a flounder can hide.
They will often be in some indentation or shallow depression in the limestone facing into the current. This is a great place to bounce your Gulp shrimp off of the reef.
You might have to use a weed less set up or you will lose your Gulps. The 3 inch Gulp shrimp can be rigged weed less by adding a 2/0 or 3/0 worm hook to it. If it is not getting to the bottom fast enough, then add a bullet weight to make it a Texas Rig.
Flounder fishing is a lot like bass fishing with worms anyways. Slow and low will catch you a ton of bass and flounders when you are using soft plastics.
I like to use just enough weight to get it to the bottom but not so much that it sinks super fast every time I give it a couple of twitches. I like it to float down slowly to the flounders' strike zone.
A Texas rigged Gulp shrimp can do some serious damage to the flounders when used correctly. The key is to set up your rig the right way and fish it the right way.
Watch the video below to learn more about using a Texas rig to catch flounders.
Flounder Fishing with Gulp Shrimp around Mangroves
The roots of the Red Mangrove Tree is another hot spot for finding flounders. The roots of the Red Mangrove Tree are usually anchored in sand or mud along some sort of tidal creek or bay in the Central and Southern parts of Florida.
You want to target the roots when they are in sand. Flounders do not seem to like the mud as much as the sand to cover up in and ambush their prey for some reason.
The roots of the mangrove tree are another one of those havens for many marine creatures. Their roots are usually covered in oysters and barnacles and the roots are a tangle of hiding places for small creatures.
Crabs, shrimp and small fish like to hide among the roots of the mangrove tree. That is why predators like snook, redfish and flounders love to hunt within the mangrove roots.
This is a great place to target flounders with a Gulp shrimp rigged weed less. The tangle of roots will claim many of your jigs if you try to use a non weed less set up but that will work too.
I am too cheap to throw away a bunch of jigs and Gulps so I like to go with a weed less set up. If you need to add some weight, then go with the Texas Rig just like on the limestone reefs mentioned above.
It is extremely important to get your Gulps right up to the roots to be in the strike zone. The flounder will often be within 12 to 18 inches of the roots facing into the current.
You have to be able to get your lures extremely close to the roots to maximize your catch. It takes some practice but the results are usually worth the effort.
The higher parts of the tide are the best for targeting the mangroves. Flounders do not need much water to set up their ambush points but the higher water allows more current to bring more prey items to the flounders.
Flounder Fishing with Gulp Shrimp on Grass Flats
Grass flats are another great place to target flounders. Grass flats are usually just full of life. There are all sorts of marine creatures that start out their lives in the grass flats before moving out to the sea.
Grass flats are very fertile hunting grounds for all sorts of predatory fish like a flounder. I find most of my flounders on the grass flats either in the sandy pot holes within the grass flat or on the outskirts of the grass flats where they turn into sand.
When you are targeting the sandy pot holes you will want to cast up current and bounce your Gulp shrimp through every part of the pot hole. Start on one side and work the whole thing and move onto the next one and repeat the process.
Not every pot hole will have fish but some pot holes will have lots of fish in them. Methodically hit every sandy pot hole that you find and you will usually find the flounders eventually.
The technique is the same as usual. Keep it slow and low. You can bounce or even slowly drag your Gulp through the sand pausing every few feet.
When you target the outskirts of the grass flats do the same thing. Work you Gulp shrimp with the appropriate jig size on the sandy bottoms around the grass flats.
When the water is deep or there is a lot of current you will have to increase your jig weight. I typically use a 1/8 ounce jig head but sometimes I will move up to a 1/4 or a 1/2 ounce jig to get it down in the water column to where the flounders are.
Flounder Fishing with Gulp Shrimp in Inlets
Inlets are another great place to target flounders but they can be hard to fish. The inlets focus the water's energy in a small area. This creates extremely strong currents.
It is hard to fish the bottom when the currents are strong. You will need to focus your attention to eddies in the current for the best results. Flounders will hide out of the strongest part of the current near boulders or sea walls that jut out into the inlet.
That is a great place to bounce your Gulp shrimp and jig combo. You will probably have to go with a 1/4 or 1/2 ounce jig head to get it to the bottom in the current so bring an assortment of sized if you plan on fishing the inlets.
Cast up current and keep it slow and low.
Conclusion:
Flounder are one of those fish that everyone loves to catch from Florida up to Maine and all along the Gulf of Mexico. They are fun to catch and they are delicious to eat so it is no wonder that they are such a popular fish to catch.
The key is to keep your baits and lures on or near the bottom. Those flounders are not the most athletic fish and will not chase a bait or lure with much speed so keep it slow for best results.
The Gulp shrimp is the best bait that I know of for catching flounders. They are kind of expensive but they work the best so it is up to you whether you want to pay about a dollar a piece for them or not.
There are all kinds of less expensive lures that you can use to catch a flounder. They are not very picky about the lure but they are picky about the presentation and technique used so practice if you want to catch a ton of flounder the next time that you target them.
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