[neophyte]

I WANT TO TAKE MY SON FLOUNDER FISHING AT ONE OF THE JONES BEACH PIERS THIS WEEKEND. I NEED SOME ADVICE ON PREPARING A CHUM POT. FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT SHOULD I USE FOR CHUM, HOW DO I PREPARE IT? HOW FAR IN DO I DROP IT? HOW CLOSE TO WHERE I DROP MY LIN? ANYTHING I HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF.THANKS FOR THE HELP.

NEOPHYTE

 

[leakyrivot]

I'm amazed no-one replied.. I guess chum is more of an offshore thing. I don't claim to be a chum expert, most of the time I buy my chum, it's nearly cost effective to just pay the $8 a gallon or $20 for 5 gallons.

I never fish flounder either, so just use what you can. I'm basicly just replying because no-one else has.

A quick & dirty chum method is simply a can of dog food in panty-hose or laundry bag. This is good for blues, mackeral, and probably everything else. I actually even use dry cat food (seafood flavored) mixed in w/ vegatable oil..

To make your own, get fish oil if you can (if not substitute w/ vegatable), some type of fairly fresh bait (in my area herring is $12 for a 20 lb flat) and an old school meat grinder. Grind up the bait as small as reasonable & possible, add the oil & some water, mix & freeze in no larger than 1 gallon tubs.

The reason no larger than 1 gallon is that in normal freezers it will begin to rot in the middle before it freezes. Rotten chum is no good.

Throw this in a laundry (or chum) bag or chum bucket (minnow traps work too) over the side. As it dethaws it will dispense. For flounder you will want to sink it to a bit above the bottom (if drifting you don't want it to get caught). For any species that will come above bottom, float the chum next to or nearby the boat. Put the bait in the chum somewhere.

Jon

 

[srfshr]

This time of the year I would just crack some mussels and stick them in the pot. Crack them so they just oooze bits and pieces into the water. Drop it to the bottom as close to your lines as possible. If the water is shallow with little current(see next paragraph) you can just crack the mussels and toss them around where your lines are. A bag of mussles and a 1/2 dozen bloodworms should cost you less than $10 and keep you busy for a while.
Use a tandem hook rig and bait one with mussel and the other with a piece of bloodworm. Have at it.
The water at the Jones Beach Piers is waaay to cold for flounders right now. You'd be much better off fishing closer to the mainland way up at the heads of the canals by Merrick Road. The water is warmer there and even up there it is still a little too cold for flounder fishing. John Burns Park in Massapequa would be a good spot to try. It's got bulkhead with rails if your son is small and safety may be a factor.
Canals that have a fresh water flow at their headwaters seem to produce the best.