The Best Bass Lures for Flounder Fishing

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Both fun to catch and fantastic on the dinner table, flounder are a popular inshore species often accessible to anglers aboard small boats and sometimes even shorebound. While most people target these flatfish with natural and live baits like shrimp and minnows, flounder will readily strike a wide range of artificial lures, as well, and don’t really require any fancy or tailored gear.

“Tidal marshes have salinity levels that both freshwater and saltwater species can tolerate, so diverse species can live in the same areas,” says George Melancon, a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist. “Largemouth bass can survive in relatively high salinities, probably up to eight or 10 parts per thousand. And flounder can live in pure freshwater, so it’s often possible to encounter both fish in the same areas.”

Bass and flounder will also feed on the same forage, with both being more opportunistic than discerning in their predatory habits, so it makes sense that they would hit the same lures. From personal experience, I’ve learned that anything that might tempt a largemouth is likely to entice a flounder. That 
includes worms, jigs, swimbaits, spinners, spoons, small crankbaits, jerkbaits, flies and even an occasional topwater lure.

AMBUSH PREDATORS

“Flounder are much more aggressive predators than most people think. I’ve had them hit lures so hard they almost ripped the rod out of my hands,” says Tom Adams, Jr. with Fishing Tom Guide Service (fishingtom.net) in Sulphur, La. “Once, I saw something busting baitfish and thought it was a redfish. I threw a topwater and caught two flounder.”

The oddly shaped bottom dwellers have shown a fondness for soft-plastic temptations that resemble a shrimp or small baitfish. And since flounder lay on the bottom, trying to blend with their surroundings to ambush passing prey, it’s best to fish those soft plastics on a jig head to keep them in contact with the bottom.

Flatfish commonly feed in extremely shallow waters, as they only need enough depth to cover their gills so they can breathe. Masters of camouflage, flounder like to bury their mottled-brown bodies in sand or mud. With only their eyes protruding from the silt, they face upstream, waiting and watching for anything to swim or wash over them. When they see something enticing, they explode from their silty lairs to devour their prey with astonishing speed and ferocity.

PREFERRED TACTICS

“I fish for bass and flounder with my lures all the time,” says Joe Moughon, owner of Chickenboy Lures in Galveston, Texas. “For flounder, I like a 3-inch Bubba Clucker in Lemon Pepper Chicken or Perfecto Pink Pollo, which is pink with black glitter on top. Another good choice is the Flounder King, a 4-inch shrimp in solid gold glitter or strawberry red with a white tail. I fish them on a 1/4-ounce jig head. I like to bump the lure along the bottom, but I’ll occasionally pull it up some and let it flutter back down.”

Dan Van Treese of Perfect Cast Charters (perfectcastcharters.com) in Port St. Joe, Fla., prefers paddletails. “The tail color depends upon the water clarity. In very dark water, I use a root beer color. In clean water, I like white or silver,” he says.

Anglers can catch fish on spinnerbaits from top to bottom, but for flounder, Sonny Schindler with Shore Thing Fishing Charters (shorethingcharters.com) in Bay St. Louis, Miss., advises to barely turn the reel handle to keep the blade flickering just off the bottom. Pause the retrieve periodically so it sinks with the blades still turning. Around oyster reefs, let the blade plink the shells to generate vibrations.

“I catch a bunch by slow-rolling a spinnerbait,” Schindler says. “I’ll just drag it across the bottom. When flounder want a spinnerbait, they crush it.”

Small crankbaits with a good wobbling action are also effective. Run them parallel to shorelines, jetties or other structures, and use lures with bills that make the bait dive to the bottom and dig up a silt trail like a shrimp or crab scurrying on the bottom.

AMBUSH POINTS

Flounder spend considerable time in extremely shallow water, but with both eyes on the same side of their head, they must constantly look up. When the sun gets high, flatfish tend to go deeper to avoid looking right into the sun. In muddy water or during overcast days, however, flounder frequently stay shallow longer and spend the bulk of their time waiting in ambush, particularly in funnels and troughs where the current and the bottom topography (oysters, rocks, grass, etc.) are likely to attract and serve up a tasty meal.

The clearer the water, however, the sooner flounder will reposition when the sun gets up and the deeper they’ll go. Nevertheless, you can still bank on the fish lurking in areas where the 
current will send hapless prey their way. Channels, bayous and passes, for instance, are excellent choices.

CLOSE-RANGE GAME

Moughon, who does a lot of wade-fishing in the Galveston Bay area, says he catches plenty of flounder in pretty skinny water.

“I’m usually knee-deep and throwing into 3 feet of water. Instead of bringing my lure up quickly, I retrieve it all the way to my feet, or as close as I can to my body, before I pick that lure up out of water. I’ve hooked many flounder less than a rod’s length from me. They don’t scare very easily.”

Since flounder rely so heavily on camouflage, anglers can get pretty close to them. Convinced they are well hidden, many will stay put even when a boat passes directly overhead.

Moughon recommends easing along weedy shorelines or similar places with shallow cover. Strip off several feet of line and swing the rod like a cane pole to drop the lure into likely flounder hiding spots. He says to focus on pockets between two grass clumps and drop a worm, jig or bass tube into each pocket, even at point-blank range. A Texas-rigged worm or weedless jig can go over or through cover better than most other baits. When there are blue crabs around, Moughon likes a weedless jig with a black craw trailer with blue claws.

This sudden invasion of a flounder’s lair often triggers a reaction strike from the fish, says Schindler. Even when not aggressively feeding, a flounder might smack something that almost lands on its head. And if nothing hits, just flip your lure to another nearby pocket and keep moving.

“By flipping, people can more thoroughly work a shoreline and target more fish,” says Schindler. “Few saltwater fishermen use the flipping technique, so flounder don’t see it very often and it might take them by surprise.”

WORM ’EM OUT

If a jig or a Texas-rigged worm doesn’t do it, another bass technique for tempting flounder at close range is a wacky worm. Rig one by running a hook completely through the bulbous “egg sack” or middle of a straight worm rather than “down the throat,” as you would with a Texas rig. With nearly-neutral buoyancy, a wacky worm makes a very natural, subtle presentation that mimics a dying sand eel or shrimp.

Let it sink naturally without additional action. As the worm slowly descends, the tips quiver and vibrate. A flounder looking up will see a tantalizing silhouette slowly dropping right on its hiding spot. If that doesn’t spark the fish’s predatory instinct, probably nothing else will.

When fishing wacky worms, Texas-rigged worms or even jigs, pay attention to the line. Typically, flounder bite soft plastics very gently, and many anglers have trouble telling when a fish slurps in a sinking bait.

GOING DEEP

For deeper flounder, try lipless crankbaits that resemble baitfish and sink fast. Slowly retrieve them just over the bottom. Occasionally run one a little higher in the water column, pause the retrieve to let it sink a foot or two and let it flutter down like a dying baitfish.Since flounder don’t like looking into the sun, some of the best fishing in the spring occurs at night. In Texas, some people rig their boats with lights that shine into the water. When they spot a flounder, they put a lure right in its face (or about a foot away) and twitch it. Once the flounder sees the lure, it will slowly approach, then stop and finally strike.

Flounder habitually gather in large numbers in places they like. What attracts one might interest several in the same spot. Experiment with several lures and retrieves to see what is working best that day.

DETECTING THE BITE

Sometimes you’ll feel a very slight tug on the line or maybe only a little heaviness, as if the bait has snagged on an oyster shell or some other piece of structure.

“If you suspect a flounder hit, slowly tighten the line to determine if it’s there. I usually wait 10 to 20 seconds before I set that hook to give the fish ample time to get the lure down in its throat,” Moughon says.

FLOUNDER FAVORITES

• These artificial lures that are effective on bass also have put countless flatfish in the boat.

Anglers can catch flounder on practically anything that mimics a small baitfish, shrimp or crab. But there are a few proven selections you may want to have in your tacklebox as insurance, in case the fish are unusually finicky.

The Bubba Clucker family of baits ($4.99/7-pack; chickenboylures.com), featuring double curly tails, ranks among the top options. They have great action and come in a variety of colors.

Sometimes, scented baits like Berkley’s PowerBait Champ Craw ($7.99/6-pack [3 1/2 inch] or 8-pack [2 1/2 inch]; berkley-fishing.com) provide the extra enticement needed to coax bites. Fished on a weedless jig, these can be bounced or crawled to imitate a crawfish or crab.

An Egret Bayou Spin ($4; egretbaits.com) with a gold Colorado blade and rigged with a Wedgetail Mullet makes a devastating flounder pounder. Choose between 1/4- and 1/2-ounce options, depending on the depth and current.

Some hard baits also do the trick. For instance, lipless crankbaits like the 1/4-ounce Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap ($7.19; rat-l-trap.com) in chrome and blue can often prove deadly when worked slowly and close to the bottom. The 1/4-ounce Mann’s Baby 1-Minus ($7.69; mannsbait.com) , which dives to about a foot, can also be quite productive, especially in shad colors.

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• This article was featured in the April 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe

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