Ancient Mariner Doormatter
The Doormatter Express rig and its chromed “flounder ball.”
Retired commercial fisherman Joseph Bielawski has incorporated the secrets he amassed while earning his living, a living based on what was in his fish box, into his Ancient Mariner line of inshore and offshore tackle.
A longtime fluke (flounder to us southerners) specialist, his Doormatter, Super Doormatter, and Doormatter Express rigs were designed with one thing only in mind—catching more and bigger flounder when his paycheck depended on it.
All the rigs feature skirted lures designed to be paired with strip or live baits to attract big flatfish by both sight and scent. A specially made insert in the Doormatter skirt reflects light and makes the squid-imitation come alive under water.
The Super Doormatter is a similar setup with a few differences. Custom skirt colors, including glow combinations like red/glow, chartreuse/glow, and green/glow, are paired with matching painted spinner blades and multicolored beads to attract and excite fish from an even greater distance than the originals. A total of eight colors are available, each representing a different favorite flatfish forage, from sand eels to squid.
The Doormatter Express pairs a chromed “flounder ball” sinker with two attractor flies or custom-colored bucktails. The rig is designed to be slowly jigged with the ball bouncing on the bottom.
The flashy sinker mimics a small school of baitfish, stirring the bottom sediment in an apparent attempt to gain cover from predators. The pair of attractor flies look as though they’re trying to get back to the safety of the school, giving flounder the impression of panicked and easy targets.
The Super Doormatter’s spinner blade and flashy skirt adds visual appeal to strip baits and live baits alike.
Available in weights from 1.25-16 oz., there’s a Doormatter Express for any conceivable flounder situation in North Carolina, regardless of depth or current. The system isn’t just for flatfish, as the larger sizes have found favor with southern bottom fishermen targeting black sea bass and various species of grouper and snapper. When targeting larger bottomfish, Bielawski ups his hook size and leader strength to keep the brutes from breaking off in the rocks or straightening the hooks.
Bielawski recommends adding a strip of squid or mackerel (or a live bait like a mud minnow) to the hooks of all the Doormatter series of lures, for the ultimate in eye, scent, and taste appeal.
All the Doormatter series lures are available at Bielawski’s website, www.ancientmarinertackle.com.
