Mud Minnows are by far the most versatile bait choice when fishing for flounder. Some bait stores carry mud minnows and this is the easiest way to procure your bait, but in some areas they are just not available. Fortunately these baits can be easily caught on your own by using a minnow trap.

How to use a minnow trap for mud minnows
A minnow trap consists of two cylindrical halves that clamp together and are made of galvanized wire. The trap allows the fish to swim through little holes at each end and once in they cannot get out. We bait our traps with a handful of the cheapest dry cat food we can find. After baited it is best to set the traps along saw grass banks with just a little of it showing above the water line. If the minnows are around it will normally only take a few hours to catch all you need, if you are using 2 traps. It is important to use the galvanized variety not the black or plastic ones as they tend to catch less minnows.
A word of warning watch out for tide changes as this can leave the trap high and dry and this is when a snake always seems to find its way into the trap and eat all the minnows.

Keeping Your Mud Minnows Alive
Mud minnows are very hardy baits and can last for days if not weeks if treated properly. After you catch them keep your mud minnows in a floating bucket that allows water to flow in and out such as a flow troll bucket. If using a flow troll bucket as a long term storage container do not to over load it, we find that four dozen or so will stay alive a long time if you discard any dead minnows and keep the bucket floating in the shade. If keeping more then 4 dozen for several trips we recommend using more then one flow troll to keep your bait alive.