question for fluke bucktailers

[Reel Class]

Having not bucktailed or fluke fished on a party boat for 11-12 years, my expertise on this topic is not where it was a decade ago, but I'll try to answer this question!

Big fluke do weird stuff. Sometimes they come up and surf the top, other times they stay down or even go under the boat. On the 6 pack boat we've seen both of those instances many times and the ones that "come up" after a run are always the ones that are the most challenging to get to the net or gaff.

Here are 2 things that might help:

1)I know when we used to fish the party boats frequently a decade + ago, the bucktailers would stick to the bow. You got more room, and you can work a fish with a little more flexibility as long as the boat is not railed.

2)One other thing that does help when landing bigger fluke is the tackle - the heavier the leader and terminal gear the better shot at landing that fish since you have more control of the situation. When you use super light tackle (I'm talking 10# braid, ultra light leader material, and a TROUT rod in bigger water) the bigger fish dictate the fight. You basically give up control when you're fighting the fish. I see so many guys fishing super light stuff for "sport" and then losing better fish because the hook pulls or something else goes wrong - HOLLYWOOD fishin don't cut it when you're trying to put meat in the box. If you just bump up the gear a tad, fish braid that's 20-30# and fish gear that's in the medium range, you always have a better chance at landing those fish.

Hope this helps