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I did a small amount of flounder fishing last summer and thoroughly enjoyed it. I intend to do more this year. I would like some recommendations on rod & reel. I'm considering some type of rod with a fairly stiff tip. I feel like I lost some fish last year due to to soft a tip and not being able to set the hook. I'm also considering the Shimano 3500B. What are you Flounder fishermen using?
I would make the assumption that you missed those fish for a different reason than a soft tipped rod. I use a very soft tipped rod so that i can feel the bump of the flounder. then you need to wait and wait and wait and wait until the flounder swallows the bait. only when you can't wait any longer do you set the hook. I'm talking about fishing with live minnows in this case. If you got your bait back after a hit and noticed teeth marks along the side of the bait, that means you didn't let the flounder swallow it long enough. I also am talking about fishing in the sound or inside waters. If you are fishing in the ocean, a stiffer rod is important because you never know what you might catch. I use a 6'6'' ugly stik that is ML with 10 pound mono on a 2000 or 4000 shimano. never had a problem
UNC had it right about giving them time to eat. I fish nearshore or jetties mostly. I use a three way rig for deep water, and a carolina rig with light weight for jetties.
I use a 6 ft berkley Lightning rod and shimano 4000(spin), and a shimano corsair on a 6'6" lighning rod(cast). I like the sensitivity of these "bass" rods to feel the bite, then drop the tip and take a slow count to five, lift the rod slowly, if you feel a little weight, give the rod a short pop to set the hook(no Roland Martin necessary). 30 lb power pro is great, use flouro leader in clear water, straight power pro around the rocks if stained.
Let me add to my thread and you guys can tell me if I'm on track or not. The reason I was thinking a firm tip rod was because...while we were fishing with live minnows, I would check my rods by gently lifting to feel if it was heavy. If it was, I would set the hook. On many occasions, thinking I set the hook, the line would go slack and I would reel in a chewed up minnow. I thought between the mono line stretch and the soft tip the flounder was spitting it out before I could get hook set. I plan to go with braid this summer. The advice on this thread is to stay with the softer tip rods.
Sorry, flounder or fluke? For flounder I would go with a 6 1/2' light action rod...and heavy chum.
For fluke, it really depends on how plan to catch em. I would use a med Large mouth bass set up when I'm fishing em shallow(20' or sallower) with a 1oz jig tipped with a porkrind, if they are deep and I have to use 3oz or more to get to the bottom, I use a 7' GLoomis muskie rod. No matter which*set*you choose the key to*fluking is to let the fluke eat. If you feel a bump, give em line for a count of 3 and than hit em.*
Reel: Any baitcaster will do. I have one of the cheap Daiwa Miionaires in the 250 size on my small flounder set up. On the deeper water set up I am Using the Millionaire CVZ 300. I use that CVZ for a lot of different things and would never spend $225 for a flounder reel, it isn't necessary. A baitcaster however is a necessity. When you feel him bump the bait you thumb the spool and let him eat for at least a count of 5. Slowly lift and feel for weight, if he's there, stick him, if not drop the rod tip and thumb some more line off. Dropping line is a lot harder on a spinner, that's why I prefer the baitcaster.
Line: Power Pro.
Rods: I don't like graphite rods in saltwater, but this is the one exception. A good graphite rod will let you feel absolutely everything going on with the bait. My small set up is a custom IM8 blank. It will handle up to about 6 ozs. If a fish touches the bait at all you'll know it on this rod. The deeper water rod I have is a Daiwa Heartland. If you can find these, they are very affordably priced for what you get.
My favorite reel for flounder is an Abu 6500, surprised no one else has mentioned them. I always keep a set of spinning rods on board for novices to use so I don'yt have to deal with rats nests in my casting reels -- I have to do that enough because of my own screw ups.
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1998 Albemarle 247
Fairfax, Virginia
I use a Lamaglass inshore classic IM70 7 foot med.action baitcaster with a Penn 965. for fluke and when I am going to need more weight I use a six and a half foot Hearland Musky graphite heavy with a Penn 975
Sounds like the same Daiwa pole I use, except mine's a 6 foot Heavy. Did they stop making those? I haven't been able to find one in about a year. It makes an awesome tog and sea bass pole too.
Sounds like the same Daiwa pole I use, except mine's a 6 foot Heavy. Did they stop making those? I haven't been able to find one in about a year. It makes an awesome tog and sea bass pole too.
I have the HL-SM661HRB. Great all around heavy bait caster for big deep fluke when you need a lot of lead, chunking stripers and blues matched up with a 975. my friend has a tackle shop and he stocks Heartlands but you can get them from Tackle Direct . http://tackledirect.com/muskietarpon.html
The Shimano baitrunners are great for fluke spooled with power pro. I set the secondary drag as light as possible for conditions. Also use a fish-finder rig. You know instantly when a fish is at the bait as he feels no line or sinker resistance as he takes line off the reel. Since switching over to this system a few years ago, I dont miss many flatties.
ron
Over the years I scaled back on the heavier equipment while fluking all
due to braided line and cheaper pricing on graphite rods.
My favorite set-up is a med to stiff tip 6 to 61/2 trigger handle graphite rod rated to 20lbs and a non level wind baitcaster such as the Calcutta CT400S or its eqivalent. You can find a good IM-6 or 7 rod for around $40-60 dollars.
I prefer this reel due to the quick thumb release that will allow you to
maintain and follow the bottom contour along with it's smooth drag. I use a 30lb braid with a FC leader.
All of my fluking is by constantly jigging in anywhere from 40-100' depths and this light weight set-up won't tire you out after a long day. I've also landed decent sized bass and blues without a problem.
Let me add to my thread and you guys can tell me if I'm on track or not. The reason I was thinking a firm tip rod was because...while we were fishing with live minnows, I would check my rods by gently lifting to feel if it was heavy. If it was, I would set the hook. On many occasions, thinking I set the hook, the line would go slack and I would reel in a chewed up minnow. I thought between the mono line stretch and the soft tip the flounder was spitting it out before I could get hook set. I plan to go with braid this summer. The advice on this thread is to stay with the softer tip rods.
SSherron.... that is what i was saying when i said that you don't wait long enough for the flounder to eat the minnow. when you gently lift the rod to see if it is heavy, you need to stop immediately if it is, because the flounder has now grabbed the tail of your bait. after a second or two, it will have grabbed half of it, after another second or two, it will have grabbed the whole thing(depending on the size of the minnow), then you need to set the hook. The reason you get a chewed up bait is because you aren't waiting long enough. Also, if you aren't casting and retrieving for the flounder than you aren't fishing the right way. when you said you would "check your rods" it makes me think that you are leaving your rods in the holders. This is not the most efficient way to flounder fish. I will usually be with one buddy, we both have a rod in our hands, casting and retrieving. then we will each have another rod in the holder, one on the bottom, one on a float. We will only ever catch flounder on the rods we are holding, and we might catch a trout or red on the rods in the holders. hope this helps.
Flounder setup advice 
