Article by Sue Foster
I had a fellow in my store the other day and we got talking about flounder fishing. He and I both agreed that we catch more flounder using a rod holder than when we are holding the rod. The fun part about rod holders is that you can fish more than one rod! If you are drifting along with two rods in the rod holders that are fairly close together, fish one rod in close to the boat with 4-ounces on it. Cast another rod out further with 2 or 3-ounces on it and they won’t tangle, even if the boat takes a turn.
If you fish a rod in a rod holder you can’t ignore it. Continuously monitor the tips of the rods for any sign of a flounder “pick up.” Sometimes the flounder just jiggles the rod a little. Sometimes the flounder slowly pulls the rod down, not unlike a large crab holding onto your squid bait!
When fishing a rod in a rod holder for flounder, a light action rod is not a bad idea. The boat drifts along and the angler can watch the tip moving up and down over mussel beds and other rough bottom. This tip motion going over rough bottom can get your squid or gulp mullets jiggling as the sinker moves over the rough bottom, enticing the flounder to bite! Personally, I like an 8-17 pound test rod for overall flounder fishing, but sometimes it’s fun to play around with a light 6-12 pound test rod!
If you are drifting pretty fast, don’t wait too long to grab the rod when a flounder may be on it. Flounder don’t have hands, and they can let go as fast as they grab on. If you know a flounder was on it and let it go, try dropping back to it for 2 or 3 minutes. But if the fish does not come back, pull your rig up and check the bait.
If you are fishing with live bait such as minnows, be sure to keep lively minnows on the hooks. If they are half dead or cut by a flounder, take them off and put on fresh ones. Pick out the larger minnows. Make sure there is no grass or dirt on your rig, and really important, if your “cut bait” (squid or cut fish strips) gets dirty, pull it off and change it. Capt. Monty Hawkins on the “Morning Star” believes in this and so does my husband, and they are both right!
If you are in a boat and the tide goes slack, try bumping the motor in and out of gear to do a slow troll, or pull one of your rods in and cast and retrieve slowly with one until the tide gets moving again. Then you can put ol’ Rodney back to work!
When you are surf fishing, “Rodney” is the sand spike.
Besides keeping your reel from falling in the sand when baiting up or taking off a fish, Rodney is there for you to help set the hook. Again, just because a rod is in a rod holder, don’t ignore it and expect it to do all the work. It’s just a piece of plastic or metal and doesn’t have a mind of its own. But it is like another pair of hands. You have to be the “eyes”! Sometimes anglers jerk the rod and try to set the hook too soon. That’s what is great about Rodney. You can stand back and watch the tip (or tie on one of those silly sets of bells if you are really not paying attention). When the rod tip goes down, you can jump up and grab the rod and start reeling the fish in.
Rodney can be twins! You can fish two or even three rods at a time. But now you really have to pay attention. Sometimes I get worn out running back and forth between rods and go back to fishing one rod when the fish really start biting!
The most important thing to do when fishing a rod in a sand spike is to set your drag correctly. Do not leave it on “terminate” (cranked down as tight as you can make it). If a big fish comes along like a shark or a huge ray, your whole rod and reel can be dragged into the ocean to never be seen again! Pull on your line coming from your reel when your bail is closed and you should be able to pull off line. Anglers with bait feeder reels can set their reels in free spool with some extra tension on the bait feeder controls. This works really well in the sand spikes. Then, once the angler grabs the rod and starts cranking, the bait feeder is off and the fish can be cranked in normally.
Anglers who troll offshore always use Rodney (rod holders). Anyone who fishes offshore knows that you have to be attentive to the rods that are in the rod holder. If a fish grabs hold and then gets off, all good anglers know to “drop back” to the fish. Since you are moving at a pretty good pace when trolling, it’s important to do it fast and right away!
Clear the lines! Whether you are trolling or surf fishing, if someone gets a really nice big fish on, reel in the other lines that are in the water. You don’t want to lose a fish because it gets tangled in another line.
Always be attentive and always know where your lines are in the water. When drifting, water depths change and as they do, you need to either crank in some line or let out some line. Good anglers are always doing something with their rods. Even when they are in the rod holders, baits are checked, sinkers are changed, grass is picked off and new baits are put on. You can’t catch any fish if there isn’t any bait on the hook. Heard that a few times….
Thanks Rodney!
Good fishing….
Sue Foster is an outdoor writer and co-owner of Oyster Bay Tackle in Ocean City, MD and Fenwick Tackle in Fenwick, DE.
