Fluke Tips

[Gerry Zagorski]

Fishing For Fluke

Fluke are one of the best tasting fish in NJ waters. In fact, Fluke has become a favorite of Sushi lovers all over the county. If you’ve never fished for them it’s definitely worth a try. They offer great sport for young and old alike and it’s great family fishing. For some odd reason women seem to have a great touch for Fluke fishing. My wife and daughter constantly out fish me and they never let me forget it. J

Best way to Fluke fish is from a drifting boat and it’s all about location and wind and tide. Fluke are bottom dwellers and will typically bury themselves in the sand close to some sort of structure. Flukes’ favorite structures are offshore lumps, channel edges and shoals. They generally bury themselves in the sand pointed into the current and wait for some bait to get washed their way so they can ambush it. For this reason it’s generally best to fish a moving tide and for your boat to be drifting in the same direction as the tide or current. If the wind is pushing you against the current your bait will not be presented in a manner the Fluke are accustomed to and this will limit your success. So, it’s always best to check tides and wind predictions and select a time and a place where they are predicted to run in the same direction. This is especially true in tidal bays and rivers and is less important off shore where tides don’t have as much of an effect.
Sometimes even the best-laid plans don’t work out and you’ll encounter less then desired conditions. The wind could shift directions or be so slight your not going to get the drift you’d like. Not to worry… that’s where power drifting comes in. When the wind is against the tide or there is little tidal movement or current you can bump your engine in and out of gear to assist your drift. Power drifting also comes in handy when you’re trying to stay in line with structure like a channel edge or the base of a wreck or shoal. You can use the boats engine and steering to take you on a course that will keep you over the structure your attempting to fish…

Fishing for Fluke doesn’t require any type of special gear. A light to medium action pole with 15 – 20 pound test usually does the trick. If the current is really ripping and you need a heavier sinker to keep your rig on the bottom you may need to use a heavier pole. In my opinion conventional reels are better suited for Fluking but I’ve see some people do very well with spinning reels. The reason I like conventional reels
is they allow you to thumb the line to control the tension of the line coming off the reel. This control is critical to a method of hooking a Fluke that most sharpies use called the Drop Back. When you’re fishing for Fluke you’re likely to be using fairly long strip baits. Often times the Fluke will hit the end of the bait and if you set the hook when you first detect a strike they detect the tension and will let go of your bait and miss the hook. What you can do in this case is Drop Back line when you detect a strike and that allows them time to engulf the entire bait, then you set the hook. With most spinning reels, with the exception of bait runner reels, you’re either in total free spool with no line control or you have the bail clicked over and line out is controlled by the drag. Hence, it much more difficult to drop the bait back on a spinning reel.

OK now that we have the equipment and drifting down lets talk bait and rigs.

If you’re not on the bottom you’re not going to catch Fluke….So the number one rule in Fluke fishing is always keeping in contact with the bottom. After all, they are bottom fish J You accomplish this by adding weight to the Fluke rig. As a general rule you want just enough weight to feel your sinker bouncing along the bottom. Adding too much weight is a no-no since the weight limits your ability to detect strikes.

In most conditions 3 or 4-ounce weights will do. There are however occasions when the tide and wind are really ripping or you’re fishing very deep areas where you’ll need as much as 10 ounces to hold bottom. Braided line comes in handy in these conditions since it’s smaller diameter has less drag in the water and will allow you to use less weight and still hold bottom.

In my opinion the simpler the rig the better. I like to use a slip sinker snap run through the main line followed by a barrel swivel. I’ll usually use a 4 foot 20 to 30 pound test leader tied to a French style gold Fluke hook. They are easy to tie yourself or you can by them pre tied at any of your local tackle stores. A lot of people swear by some of the plastic spinners or shinny spinner blades you can add above the hook for some flash but I’ve always done well with the plain old rig. Some people prefer to substitute a squid tipped bucktail or chrome Fluke balls for sinkers. While this can add to the effectiveness of your rig it can also cause excessive tangles and snags especially when there is very slow water movement or wind against tide conditions. I recommend you stick to the basics and experiment after you’ve mastered them.

Now lets talk about bait…… The old stand by is the Sandy Hook Sandwich, a live Killie and a strip of squid. When there are Spearing or Sand Eels present in the area it’s best to match the hatch and use them instead of Kellies. Spearing are generally around earlier in the season while Sand Eels follow later with the warmer water. Both come frozen so they are easy to use. What you want to do is take your Squid and peel off the brown thin top layer of skin and slice it in flags. The flags should be as long as you can make them, 1 inch wide at the top and tapering down to a point at the bottom. I like to take the last 2 inches of the point and slice it in half to create 2 tales. It adds a little more flash as the tales flutter in the water. If you’re fishing with a Kellie open it’s mount and run the hook through the top jaw and out it’s nostril. If you’re using Spearing or Sand Eels simply hook them through one eye socket and out the other. If you’re after a doormat Fluke and your ambitious get yourself a snapper rig, catch yourself some live snappers and use them. They are the deadliest bait of all for large Fluke and well worth the extra effort. Another bait that has started to become popular is Bunker strips. Fillet a fresh Bunker and leave the skin on. Cut the Bunker fillet long ways into 1 inch strips.
OK we’re all rigged up now… We’ve got the perfect drift over some structure and just popped a frosty. It’s time to fish !! Drop your line over the side, no need to cast because the perfect drift we’re on is going to take our bait right into the Fluke strike zone. Let out line until you feel the sinker thump on the bottom. As you drift along you can pump the pole up and drop it back down and feel the sinker hit the bottom. If it’s not on the bottom put on a heavier sinker and send it down again until you get the right weight on. Now put your pole in free spool and adjust the line out tension just tight enough to allow line to come off the reel if you hit a snag or better yet get a strike. Put the clicker on so if your not manning your pole you’ll hear the strike, this is called dead sticking.. You get right on the channel edge and see the depth on the sounder falling off the edge…. All of a sudden you feel a tap, tap and the tip of the pole is bouncing. Drop your pole tip down or give him some line (Drop Back) and the set the hook…… You’re on now… Keep the pole tip up and reel on the fish steadily with out pumping the rod. He’s taking some drag now because he wants to stay on the bottom… He finally gives up on the bottom and you start gaining some line…..You ask your buddy to get the net and the fish is finally in view…………… Uh OHHHHHH it’s a Sea Robin J Well, that’s all part of Fluke Fishing in NJ……

One last thing to keep things interesting…. It’s a little game we play when we are out that adds some fun and excitement to the trip… If you catch an undersize Fluke or anything else like a pesky Bluefish, Crab or Sea Robin you put a dollar in the pot. We call this juicing the pot. The person who catches a keeper Fluke takes the pot along with the bragging rights and you start all over again. It’s really comical to see the competitiveness come out in people and how everyone but the person with the fish on is cheering for a stinking Sea Robin.

I hope this helps put people on some Fluke this year and you have some fun with the game. Fluking is an excellent pass time for friends and family and kids love it. There are several party and charter boats on this site that fish for them exclusively so if your new to the sport they can show you all the ropes and put you and your friends and family on these tasty fish. Bring some fresh Ginger and Wasabee……..

Got this one fishing with The River Rat on the Angry Beaver. He hit a live Snapper.

[zsh1175]

very helpful.

could you give me some advice for striper fishing from the shore.

rod length, action, # test, anything like that will do. looking to spend 350 on a decent set up. any help will do. thanks

[Gerry Zagorski]

I'm not that into surf fishing like some others here... I would start a new thread if I were you and I'm sure you get some people to respond.

One thing for sure is if you are not run and gun sight casting to bait working you need to learn how to read the beach to look for productive areas. It's best done at low tide... What you do is look for breaks in the sand bars and that's were you want to be fishing. Those breaks act like funnels during a falling tide and the Stripers lay in wait for the bait to get washed through them. Toss a Clam or a Bunker chunk in there and that's your best shot.

[hartattack]

Here's a simple one if you're dragging bait for fluke (I'm usually bucktailing though):

Instead of attaching your sinker directly to the snap swivel, use a 3-4" strand of mono to tie the sinker from the swivel or slider or 3-way. This will slightly elevate your bait from the bottom and draw more strikes. I usually use 8 pound test for attaching the sinker, so that when I get snagged I usually lose the sinker only and not the entire rig. Good luck !!