Drifting Easy By Sue Foster

            “What kind of rigs should we use for flounder?”

            Even though flounder dart off the bottom to grab their baits, 
they lie on the bottom floor until they see something that interests them. 
Since they depend on “sight” more than “smell” you must present your bait 
close to the bottom so the flounder can see it.  The most important part of 
your rig is your sinker. If your sinker is not heavy enough to keep you on 
the bottom during a rushing tide, you won’t catch flounder!

            “How much weight should I use?”

            A good flounder fisherman has an array of weights. If you are 
fishing out of a boat, you can have anywhere from ¾ of an ounce up to 5 
ounces of weight. When you are fishing in relatively shallow waters of three 
to six feet in the upper reaches of the bay, carry ¾ ounce, one-ounce, one 
and a half ounce, and two-ounce bass cast type sinkers. (These are the 
teardrops shaped sinkers with a swivel eye at the top.) With these type 
sinkers you can drift over mud flats and grassy bottom without snagging plus 
the swivel eye helps eliminate line twist.

            If you are drifting in a boat through deep swift water such as 
the center of the Thorofore, the deep east channel near the Route 50 Bridge, 
or the Inlet, you need more weight. When the tide is slacking you can get 
away with a one and a half or a two-ounce sinker, but when the tide is 
running hard you may need a three, four, or even five ounce weight.  If you 
need more than that it is probably not a good time to be fishing those 
areas.

            If you are fishing from the shore, you can buy the bass cast or 
the bank type sinkers. (Never use pyramid sinkers in the bay!)  When you are 
fishing from the shore, you are not moving with the water like drifting in a 
boat, so you will need more weight at times. Start with one and a half ounce 
sinkers and also take two, three, and four ounce sinkers. If you are casting 
out into a current and want it to stay put, the bank type sinker will work 
better than the bass cast type. The bass cast sinker tends to roll.

            “So what kind of rigs should I buy?”

            Anglers use three types of rigs to fish for flounder.  A basic 
high/low rig, which is a top and bottom, rig with two hooks attached.  Some 
anglers like a single leadered flounder rig which includes flounder 
pounders, squid rigs, Spin N’ Glow rigs, Fluke Killers, and etc…  Then some 
anglers fishing from the Route 50 Bridge or a boat like a spreader rig which 
puts both hooks right on the bottom.

            First of all, we’ll talk about the high/low rigs. Many anglers 
like to use a wire top and bottom rig (we call this a 1040 rig- some anglers 
that are familiar with fresh water fishing call it a crappie rig). It is 
made out of steelon and has two twisted wire stand offs to attach two 
12-inch leadered hooks. (Never try to put long leadered hooks on a small top 
and bottom rig or you’ll have a tangled mess!)  There is a sinker clip on 
the bottom of the rig where you can attach your sinker. Many tackle stores 
have these already made up “ready-to-fish” but it is less expensive to buy 
the top and bottom rigs and a couple packs of hooks and put them together 
yourself as you need them.

            There are all kinds of top and bottom rigs you can buy and they 
all basically work the same. It’s sort of like Forest Gump and all the 
different ways you can cook shrimp. There are monofilament top and bottom 
rigs, tennis cord top and bottom rigs, clear ones, colored ones, top and 
bottom rigs with white stand offs and red beads, longer ones (1040HD), and 
even little gizmos you can put out on your line and make your own top and 
bottom rigs (Bear Paw Line Connectors.)  But they all work the same.  The 
sinker is on the bottom and two leadered hooks are attached to two stand 
offs of some kind.  One hook falls below the sinker. The second hook hangs 
above the first hook.  When you fish this rig for flounder, you don’t want 
to fish it straight up and down.  Let your line out enough so that the top 
hook dangles a few inches over the bottom floor so the flounder can see it!

            Some monofilament type top and bottom rigs come pre-made with 
white or colored bucktailed skirts in the package. These are often called 
“Pop’s Rigs” or “Pop-Johnson” rigs.  These are excellent for flounder 
fishing. There are no sinker clips for the sinker, just a dropper loop. 
Simply loop your sinker through the loop. These are made this way on purpose 
because some anglers like little or no hardware on their rig.

            There is a patented rig on the market called an Aqua-Clear 
Tangleless Rig that many flounder anglers love. It is all made out of clear 
plastic material and are available in plain hooks, bucktailed hooks, and 
hooks with pearl blades.  There is a big dropper loop to insert your sinker. 
The rigs promise not to tangle and most of time they don’t!  If you buy the 
rigs made with the stainless hooks you can use them over and over again. 
Just wash them off with fresh water when you come in. Pat them dry with a 
paper towel, and repackage them.

            One of our favorite top and bottom flounder rigs we like to make 
up ourselves is to attach two chartreuse colored spinner blade hooks on a 
monofilament top and bottom rig. When you make rigs up yourself, pull the 
top and bottom rig taunt and look at it carefully to make sure your top and 
bottom hooks are not touching each other. If they are, shorten up the top 
one so it doesn’t tangle while in the water!

            Many anglers like a simple one-hook rig made with a 30-inch long 
leadered hook attached to a 3-way swivel and a snap for the sinker.  (Be 
sure to use a snap swivel at the end of your line to eliminate line twist.) 
I like to use a plastic fish finder rig with my long leadered hook rather 
than a 3-way swivel and snap as a fish finder rig totally eliminates line 
twist. The inexpensive fish finder rigs are great to use in snaggy areas 
like the main channel near First Street or the inlet, because if the sinker 
gets snagged, the sinker clip will break off and you’ll lose your sinker but 
not your whole rig!

            Some anglers who fish with a conventional type rod and reel do 
well with an egg sinker rig.  We also call this rig a “drop-back rig,” 
because it works well when “dropping back” to a flounder. To make one of 
these flounder rigs, take a piece of leader material 20 to 30 pound test and 
about 12-inches long. Slide an egg sinker in the middle of the leader and 
tie a barrel swivel to each end. Then attach your long leadered hook or 
single long leadered flounder rig to one of the barrel swivels. Attach the 
other barrel swivel to the end of your fishing line.  (The fish finder rig 
and the egg sinker rig also work for live eels.)

            The third rig is a spreader rig or “coat hanger” rig.  It is 
made out of tennis cord or wire. Anglers on the Route 50 Bridge or anglers 
drifting in a boat use these rigs. One puts the sinker on the clip in the 
center of the rig and attaches two leadered hooks on the loops or clips on 
the spreader. Both hooks drag the bottom. On the Bridge, anglers drift out 
this rig with a bobber. Personally, I’d leave this rig for the Bridge 
fisherman and use the other type of rigs in a boat!

            Everyone has a favorite rig, and or a special lucky rig. If it 
works for you, that’s the one you want to use!

            Good fishing….


 
 
 
 
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