This week's starts off kind of slow in the flounder world. Super strong winds and plummeting temperatures have kept anglers off the water and made flounder fishing tough. Our water temperatures are still running pretty low and clarity in most bays on the Texas and Louisiana coasts have been poor which greatly affects flounder fishing.

So, for this morning I have two tips to aid your fishing this week.

Spinning Rods for "Flipping"

"Flipping" is generally a termed most often associated with largemouth bass fishing. It involves under handed "flips" or "pitches" to nearby cover. I grew up flipping whacky worms into close cover in our local bayous with a spinning rod and have honed my skills using them for this application with flounder.

If you want to use my techniques for fishing close cover for flounder, I highly recommend learning how to flip and using a spinning rod. A HUGE advantage is you will not backlash with a spinning rod and in the high winds we have on the coast, even the best angler can backlash trying to flip.

This photo was taken of me last week flounder fishing in Louisiana and we were in 15 plus mile an hour winds. I was still able to make some 20 plus yard flips into tight cover with no worry of backlash and extreme focus. I am a big believer in eliminating problems, not just learning to work around them. I will talk more in a later blog about the value of spinning rods with flounder but if you're really interested in learning how to truly fish tight cover, start with a spinning rod. 

You will not regret the decision.

Capt. Phillip Samuels has been having great success using the Gulp! 4-inch swimming mullet.

"That lure has great action and the smoke color has been working great for us in the bayous when we have been having poor clarity," Samuels said.

Fished on a 1/4-ounce jighead and crawled slowly across the bottom it has recently replaced soft plastic jigs tipped with shrimp for Samuels.

"It's hard to argue with success," he said.

Capt. Phillip Samuels with his favorite spring flounder lure for murky water, the Gulp! Swimming Mullet.