This is a somewhat complicated topic to discuss, as it calls into play personal preference as well as specific fishing techniques. I’ll simplify it, by dividing it into two categories. Let’s look at fluke outfits, inshore and off.
I’ll begin by saying that prior to the past three seasons I’d never been a big proponent of using spinning gear for bottom fishing. Those that fish with me on the Lep have usually tended to agree, finding little reason to bring along a spinning rig. Oft-times we’d watch guys in other boats using spinners, on both the deep and shallower grounds, whilst poking fun at their alleged “googan” status.
Yeah, well, I’ve seen the error of my ways, so guess I’m now officially a googan – and it only took 50 years to achieve that prestigious status. This, because I have come to really enjoy using spinning tackle to hunt bottom species, particularly our flat friends.
In an effort to keep it interesting while maintaining good lure action, I’ve spent a solid amount of time experimenting with deep water spin-jigging. Not just to add to my overall skill set, but also to put some extra fish in the box on those days that find the drift conditions to be sub-par. Needless to say, it has been an unqualified success. After making several adjustments to my tackle and presentation.
As anyone that has followed this board (or the old one, over on the “other” site) is probably aware, fluke hunting is my numero uno passion. I like fishing ‘em inshore well enough, in the bays and up in the Sound. Both of which methods I’ve rarely partaken of in recent seasons. What I really do find interesting is finding and fishing them in deep water. And there’s no shortage of suitable bottom outside Jones Inlet, my home grounds.
Be it over smooth sand or obstructed bottom, I find no greater satisfaction in this sport than putting my crew on better fluke, offshore.
As an aside, some that fish with me think as a captain I’m too intense when on the grounds. That I don’t enjoy the fishing as much as I should. That might actually be true, as I do find that I really cannot relax until we start boxing some decent fish. Getting the ball rolling, so to speak. Once that happens, I can joke around with the best of them. But, not until then. Hey, “game-face time” is a real thing.
This is why having a “conditions-appropriate” tackle aboard is very important to me. Not only does it greatly aid in the proper presentation of the lures, but it can also assist in the boating of better fish. Dropping good fish half-way to the boat is just a fact of life when deep jigging. Who knows just how well a fish is hooked? Or if its even hooked in the mouth at all? No one can say. Using a rod that has the cushion to absorb big head shakes will tend to cut down on those lost fish. This is a very important point.
Being a “stream of consciousness” kind of writer, I’m doing a bit of jumping around, so let me steer back to the point of this post. For inshore fluking, I do not believe it’s all that critical to have super-tuned tackle. A basic 2500-sized spinning reel, or 200-sized bait casting reel, mounted to an appropriate rod is more than sufficient.
Smaller baits, lesser tides, shallower water – this is the place for the lighter stuff. I have two outfits that I think are about perfect for this sort of inshore/bay fishing. In a spinner I like my first-gen Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500F, mounted on a Shimano Trevala-S rod, in the “L” power. In a casting outfit – a Curado 200E5 on the same Shimano Trevala-S “L” rod, in the casting version, of course! These little fairy-wand rods are still as good as any factory-built sticks I’ve seen out there. They are well worth seeking out. Even though they’ve been recently discontinued by Shimano in favor of the new Trevala PX series. These are now trickling into the various local tackle shops. So those are my inshore choices.
Offshore fluking is a whole ‘nother thing – and I’ve gone thru BOODLES of rod and reel combos over the past 20 seasons, in order to arrive at where I’m at these days. Though I have many premo setups assembled and ready to go during the deep fluke season, inclusive of some very big dollar customs, there are three specific setups that will make every single trip with me this coming season. And all of them are centered around factory-built rods. Huh! Fancy that!
The first is my trusty Jigging World Ghost Hunter 150gram slow jigger, carrying a very custom Daiwa Zillion HLC, tricked out per this thread:
O.K., Here We Go Again – a New Deep Fluking Reel Build
This outfit is whisper-light in the hand, yet has the stones to fish most “average-condition” days outside. The rod features a gorgeous, deep bend while pulling on a good one, while having just the right amount of “tip” to properly pop a 4oz buck tail in 80’ of water. Over the past four or five seasons it has brought many outsized fluke to the net, without drama.
The second outfit that MUST come along is my Black Hole Charter Special Slow Pitch bait caster, carrying my also heavily-modded Daiwa Zillion Coastal. This reel features the same 4.9:1 gears as the previously-mentioned Zillion HLC (both gear sets added by me), as well as many other improvements in bearings, drags and handles. See some info on this here:
New Handle/Knobs on two old Favorites
When things go to heck offshore, when its “rock and roll” time and the drift sock has to go in the water, this outfit is my go-to. No worries properly working a 6oz. jig or 8oz sinker on a B/S rig. It’s got the stones to handle its business, on any but the most extreme of days.
Though it presents as a fairly stout blank, this rod features a deep, moderate bend when hooked to a good one – the better to cushion the head shakes of a plus-sized fish, while rolling around on a tough-conditions day.
Really a nice outfit for those sort of trips – and face it, what with the “accuracy” of NOAA forecasts these days, sooner or later we all end up fishing on less than perfect days. Like I’ve repeatedly written, if conditions deteriorate, I’m NOT going home. We fish though, even if it means holding on with one hand and fishing with the other.
This is because over the years I’ve found that there’s some sort of weird relationship between rough conditions offshore, and a substantial uptick in the intensity of the deep fluke bite. I have no real idea why this is – perhaps it’s the increase in oxygenation of the water during rough conditions. Or maybe it’s the lack of boat traffic. I really have no clue but it happens A LOT. Slow fishing while the seas are fairly moderate, the wind comes up, conditions go to hell, and the better fluke begin to put on a show.
Isn’t it better to come home a little beat up, with a full fish box, than pull off the grounds early and have nothing to show for your week of waiting for that carefully-planned weekend trip? Hence the need for a quality heavy fluke outfit that can get it done on those tougher-conditions days. So that’s two “must-bring outfits.”
Now, back to spinning gear on the offshore grounds. This has become my pet obsession – my latest “fishin’ fetish,” so to speak. As I wrote earlier, I never really grasped the need for a spinning rig in the deep. But my thinking has changed over the past three seasons, as there is no better way to cover ground on those “no-drift” days than by casting about the boat with a suitably light leadhead/GULP combo. Not in my opinion anyway.
As documented in several multi-season threads on this board, I’ve gone thru a bit of a search to find just the right rod and reel to best suit my tastes and needs, fishing my area’s deep grounds. Much of it can be seen here:
New IT&T Board Feature – Hands-on Tackle Reviews 2019/2020
After consulting with one of my local go-to sources, namely John at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon, I began my investigation with his recommended Daiwa Harrier Slow Pitch MH spinner. It was paired with a Tsunami Evict 2000 spinning reel. This turned out to be a KILLER outfit, for relatively short coin. The rod is just $99, which one has to admit is a fairly modest ask for a quality rod. I used this outfit for an entire season on the deeper drops catching PLENTY of fluke during those slow-drift days. In fact, I would say that this technique did save the day more than once, with the “cast way out there and jig back to the boat” technique putting quite a few quality fish in the box.
Over the following off-season I did succumb to my base “tackle ho” instincts, looking to further improve on an already-fine setup. I finally settled on upgrading to a Black Hole Challenger Bank 6’9” UL stick. This turned out to be a solid move. First (or second?) trip out that early season, I used it to take the only three keepers we three “experts” put in the boat, including a pair of fat 5lbers. The rod handled them exactly as it should – no drama, though it did feature a quite impressive bend. Once those fish went straight up and down in 70’. Very nice indeed.
I really had no intention of “upgrading” this outfit, I was quite pleased with its performance (and looks). Umm, then I made the mistake of visiting again with John at Trophy Tackle. Yeah, of course you know what happened – heck, I even documented my visit in that earlier thread. He showed me the new “Grappler” series from Shimano – which has like 40 different models to choose from. I looked at the “SJ” slow-jig versions, which though truly awesome, wouldn’t fit my needs, being too light in action.
Then John showed me the “J” Jigging rods, specifically the 6’ ML. Oh God, that was IT! I had to have it. Just a gorgeous rod, for my purposes. A bit more power than my BH UL, with a more substantial tip – it was rated to easily jig up to a 4oz lure – while being ridiculously light in the hand. SOLD! The “Tackle Monkey” had struck again!
I used that rod for the balance of last season to excellent effect, in fact, I could barely put it down to pick up my other rods. Even when “drift jigging,” during which I would ordinarily use one of my baitcasting setups, for the most part, I stuck with the Grappler/Evict combo – with devastating results.
It’s “different,” fluking drifting with a spinning rig. Though it’s a tad inconvenient to have to keep opening the bail for bite drop-backs. Or to stay in touch with the bottom while drifting over varied-depth grounds, it’s still pretty cool to fish this way.
Not to mention having the reel under the rod seems to be MUCH easier on my wrists. No more “fluke fishing carpels tunnel”-type pain after long trips. I have to admit, that’s a big advantage. Switching back and forth between the bait casters and this spinner has me in much better shape at the trip’s conclusion.
So, what’s new on the horizon? What new tackle am I looking at? Hah, funny you should ask. Over the past winter I’ve been gifted several cash cards, reel repair services rendered, and the such. So I am considering acquiring further refinement to my spinning efforts. I’m keeping the Grappler stick – as I’m still in love with it. But I think I’d like to put a lighter weight reel on it for the coming season.
There isn’t a thing in the world wrong with my Evict 2000. Two seasons of use and it’s still a super smooth cranker. In fact it actually cranks smoother now than when it was new, right out-of-the-box. It took a good bit of time for those hard stainless steel gears to properly mesh together. But it’s super-nice to crank now, that’s for sure. As far as hauling in fish, it’s certainly proven itself on both the fluke and tog jigging grounds. And I still love it.
However, all that internal stainless steel (main and pinion gears and spool shaft) comes at a price. Weight. This bad boy ain’t light, coming in at around 11oz, loaded with line, ready to fish. Until proven otherwise, I do not believe that such a heavy-duty reel is necessary on the fluke grounds. Nice to know just how bullet-proof this reel is, but the weight is just a bit much. There are alternatives out there, that are worthy of consideration.
Two choices come to mind, both of which are in the uber-lightweight 6.3oz weight range. The brandy-new Shimano Vanford and the excellent Daiwa Ballistic LT. Both feature bodies made of advanced composites, the Vanford of Shimano’s Ci4+, and the Ballistic of Daiwa’s proprietary Zaion. Both are really nice pieces; both have some unique features that make them worth considering.
The Vanford is very new – featuring Shimano’s latest “Micro-Module II” gearing. It has a long-stroke spool for better line storage and casting, and a 6:1 gear ratio.
The Ballistic LT features Daiwa’s super-smooth Digi-gearing, their mag-seal technology to keep the pinion bearing from rotting out from SW adulteration, and a much-preferred (to me at least) 5.3:1 gear ratio – the better to pull harder on deep fluke.
I have had some initial concerns about frame/stem flexing under load, which no aluminum-framed reel will ever exhibit. But more than a dozen seasons of owning my little Stradic Ci4, plus conversations with the owners of other much more current composite reels have allayed those concerns.
My Evict will not be going into hibernation – as its still gonna sail with me, mounted to the Grappler, once tog jigging season comes around once again. THAT’S where all that internal high-strength stainless steel really will make the difference. In my opinion, anyway.
So that’s where I’m at for the coming season, as it pertains to “Must bring along” fluke outfits. I would like to hear your thoughts on what choices I’ve made, as well as what you consider your “must-brings.”
I’ll begin by saying that prior to the past three seasons I’d never been a big proponent of using spinning gear for bottom fishing. Those that fish with me on the Lep have usually tended to agree, finding little reason to bring along a spinning rig. Oft-times we’d watch guys in other boats using spinners, on both the deep and shallower grounds, whilst poking fun at their alleged “googan” status.
Am I a Googan?
Yeah, well, I’ve seen the error of my ways, so guess I’m now officially a googan – and it only took 50 years to achieve that prestigious status. This, because I have come to really enjoy using spinning tackle to hunt bottom species, particularly our flat friends.
In an effort to keep it interesting while maintaining good lure action, I’ve spent a solid amount of time experimenting with deep water spin-jigging. Not just to add to my overall skill set, but also to put some extra fish in the box on those days that find the drift conditions to be sub-par. Needless to say, it has been an unqualified success. After making several adjustments to my tackle and presentation.
As anyone that has followed this board (or the old one, over on the “other” site) is probably aware, fluke hunting is my numero uno passion. I like fishing ‘em inshore well enough, in the bays and up in the Sound. Both of which methods I’ve rarely partaken of in recent seasons. What I really do find interesting is finding and fishing them in deep water. And there’s no shortage of suitable bottom outside Jones Inlet, my home grounds.
Putting My Crew On The Fish!
Be it over smooth sand or obstructed bottom, I find no greater satisfaction in this sport than putting my crew on better fluke, offshore.
As an aside, some that fish with me think as a captain I’m too intense when on the grounds. That I don’t enjoy the fishing as much as I should. That might actually be true, as I do find that I really cannot relax until we start boxing some decent fish. Getting the ball rolling, so to speak. Once that happens, I can joke around with the best of them. But, not until then. Hey, “game-face time” is a real thing.
This is why having a “conditions-appropriate” tackle aboard is very important to me. Not only does it greatly aid in the proper presentation of the lures, but it can also assist in the boating of better fish. Dropping good fish half-way to the boat is just a fact of life when deep jigging. Who knows just how well a fish is hooked? Or if its even hooked in the mouth at all? No one can say. Using a rod that has the cushion to absorb big head shakes will tend to cut down on those lost fish. This is a very important point.
Inshore Fluking
Being a “stream of consciousness” kind of writer, I’m doing a bit of jumping around, so let me steer back to the point of this post. For inshore fluking, I do not believe it’s all that critical to have super-tuned tackle. A basic 2500-sized spinning reel, or 200-sized bait casting reel, mounted to an appropriate rod is more than sufficient.
Smaller baits, lesser tides, shallower water – this is the place for the lighter stuff. I have two outfits that I think are about perfect for this sort of inshore/bay fishing. In a spinner I like my first-gen Shimano Stradic Ci4 2500F, mounted on a Shimano Trevala-S rod, in the “L” power. In a casting outfit – a Curado 200E5 on the same Shimano Trevala-S “L” rod, in the casting version, of course! These little fairy-wand rods are still as good as any factory-built sticks I’ve seen out there. They are well worth seeking out. Even though they’ve been recently discontinued by Shimano in favor of the new Trevala PX series. These are now trickling into the various local tackle shops. So those are my inshore choices.
Offshore Fluking
Offshore fluking is a whole ‘nother thing – and I’ve gone thru BOODLES of rod and reel combos over the past 20 seasons, in order to arrive at where I’m at these days. Though I have many premo setups assembled and ready to go during the deep fluke season, inclusive of some very big dollar customs, there are three specific setups that will make every single trip with me this coming season. And all of them are centered around factory-built rods. Huh! Fancy that!
The first is my trusty Jigging World Ghost Hunter 150gram slow jigger, carrying a very custom Daiwa Zillion HLC, tricked out per this thread:
O.K., Here We Go Again – a New Deep Fluking Reel Build
This outfit is whisper-light in the hand, yet has the stones to fish most “average-condition” days outside. The rod features a gorgeous, deep bend while pulling on a good one, while having just the right amount of “tip” to properly pop a 4oz buck tail in 80’ of water. Over the past four or five seasons it has brought many outsized fluke to the net, without drama.
The second outfit that MUST come along is my Black Hole Charter Special Slow Pitch bait caster, carrying my also heavily-modded Daiwa Zillion Coastal. This reel features the same 4.9:1 gears as the previously-mentioned Zillion HLC (both gear sets added by me), as well as many other improvements in bearings, drags and handles. See some info on this here:
New Handle/Knobs on two old Favorites
Rock and Roll
When things go to heck offshore, when its “rock and roll” time and the drift sock has to go in the water, this outfit is my go-to. No worries properly working a 6oz. jig or 8oz sinker on a B/S rig. It’s got the stones to handle its business, on any but the most extreme of days.
Though it presents as a fairly stout blank, this rod features a deep, moderate bend when hooked to a good one – the better to cushion the head shakes of a plus-sized fish, while rolling around on a tough-conditions day.
Really a nice outfit for those sort of trips – and face it, what with the “accuracy” of NOAA forecasts these days, sooner or later we all end up fishing on less than perfect days. Like I’ve repeatedly written, if conditions deteriorate, I’m NOT going home. We fish though, even if it means holding on with one hand and fishing with the other.
This is because over the years I’ve found that there’s some sort of weird relationship between rough conditions offshore, and a substantial uptick in the intensity of the deep fluke bite. I have no real idea why this is – perhaps it’s the increase in oxygenation of the water during rough conditions. Or maybe it’s the lack of boat traffic. I really have no clue but it happens A LOT. Slow fishing while the seas are fairly moderate, the wind comes up, conditions go to hell, and the better fluke begin to put on a show.
Hey, why fight it?
Isn’t it better to come home a little beat up, with a full fish box, than pull off the grounds early and have nothing to show for your week of waiting for that carefully-planned weekend trip? Hence the need for a quality heavy fluke outfit that can get it done on those tougher-conditions days. So that’s two “must-bring outfits.”
Now, back to spinning gear on the offshore grounds. This has become my pet obsession – my latest “fishin’ fetish,” so to speak. As I wrote earlier, I never really grasped the need for a spinning rig in the deep. But my thinking has changed over the past three seasons, as there is no better way to cover ground on those “no-drift” days than by casting about the boat with a suitably light leadhead/GULP combo. Not in my opinion anyway.
Several multi-season threads
As documented in several multi-season threads on this board, I’ve gone thru a bit of a search to find just the right rod and reel to best suit my tastes and needs, fishing my area’s deep grounds. Much of it can be seen here:
New IT&T Board Feature – Hands-on Tackle Reviews 2019/2020
After consulting with one of my local go-to sources, namely John at Trophy Tackle in West Babylon, I began my investigation with his recommended Daiwa Harrier Slow Pitch MH spinner. It was paired with a Tsunami Evict 2000 spinning reel. This turned out to be a KILLER outfit, for relatively short coin. The rod is just $99, which one has to admit is a fairly modest ask for a quality rod. I used this outfit for an entire season on the deeper drops catching PLENTY of fluke during those slow-drift days. In fact, I would say that this technique did save the day more than once, with the “cast way out there and jig back to the boat” technique putting quite a few quality fish in the box.
The Tackle Ho
Over the following off-season I did succumb to my base “tackle ho” instincts, looking to further improve on an already-fine setup. I finally settled on upgrading to a Black Hole Challenger Bank 6’9” UL stick. This turned out to be a solid move. First (or second?) trip out that early season, I used it to take the only three keepers we three “experts” put in the boat, including a pair of fat 5lbers. The rod handled them exactly as it should – no drama, though it did feature a quite impressive bend. Once those fish went straight up and down in 70’. Very nice indeed.
I really had no intention of “upgrading” this outfit, I was quite pleased with its performance (and looks). Umm, then I made the mistake of visiting again with John at Trophy Tackle. Yeah, of course you know what happened – heck, I even documented my visit in that earlier thread. He showed me the new “Grappler” series from Shimano – which has like 40 different models to choose from. I looked at the “SJ” slow-jig versions, which though truly awesome, wouldn’t fit my needs, being too light in action.
Tackle Monkey
Then John showed me the “J” Jigging rods, specifically the 6’ ML. Oh God, that was IT! I had to have it. Just a gorgeous rod, for my purposes. A bit more power than my BH UL, with a more substantial tip – it was rated to easily jig up to a 4oz lure – while being ridiculously light in the hand. SOLD! The “Tackle Monkey” had struck again!
I used that rod for the balance of last season to excellent effect, in fact, I could barely put it down to pick up my other rods. Even when “drift jigging,” during which I would ordinarily use one of my baitcasting setups, for the most part, I stuck with the Grappler/Evict combo – with devastating results.
It’s “different,” fluking drifting with a spinning rig. Though it’s a tad inconvenient to have to keep opening the bail for bite drop-backs. Or to stay in touch with the bottom while drifting over varied-depth grounds, it’s still pretty cool to fish this way.
Not to mention having the reel under the rod seems to be MUCH easier on my wrists. No more “fluke fishing carpels tunnel”-type pain after long trips. I have to admit, that’s a big advantage. Switching back and forth between the bait casters and this spinner has me in much better shape at the trip’s conclusion.
I’m keeping the Grappler stick
So, what’s new on the horizon? What new tackle am I looking at? Hah, funny you should ask. Over the past winter I’ve been gifted several cash cards, reel repair services rendered, and the such. So I am considering acquiring further refinement to my spinning efforts. I’m keeping the Grappler stick – as I’m still in love with it. But I think I’d like to put a lighter weight reel on it for the coming season.
There isn’t a thing in the world wrong with my Evict 2000. Two seasons of use and it’s still a super smooth cranker. In fact it actually cranks smoother now than when it was new, right out-of-the-box. It took a good bit of time for those hard stainless steel gears to properly mesh together. But it’s super-nice to crank now, that’s for sure. As far as hauling in fish, it’s certainly proven itself on both the fluke and tog jigging grounds. And I still love it.
However, all that internal stainless steel (main and pinion gears and spool shaft) comes at a price. Weight. This bad boy ain’t light, coming in at around 11oz, loaded with line, ready to fish. Until proven otherwise, I do not believe that such a heavy-duty reel is necessary on the fluke grounds. Nice to know just how bullet-proof this reel is, but the weight is just a bit much. There are alternatives out there, that are worthy of consideration.
Two choices come to mind
Two choices come to mind, both of which are in the uber-lightweight 6.3oz weight range. The brandy-new Shimano Vanford and the excellent Daiwa Ballistic LT. Both feature bodies made of advanced composites, the Vanford of Shimano’s Ci4+, and the Ballistic of Daiwa’s proprietary Zaion. Both are really nice pieces; both have some unique features that make them worth considering.
The Vanford is very new – featuring Shimano’s latest “Micro-Module II” gearing. It has a long-stroke spool for better line storage and casting, and a 6:1 gear ratio.
The Ballistic LT
The Ballistic LT features Daiwa’s super-smooth Digi-gearing, their mag-seal technology to keep the pinion bearing from rotting out from SW adulteration, and a much-preferred (to me at least) 5.3:1 gear ratio – the better to pull harder on deep fluke.
I have had some initial concerns about frame/stem flexing under load, which no aluminum-framed reel will ever exhibit. But more than a dozen seasons of owning my little Stradic Ci4, plus conversations with the owners of other much more current composite reels have allayed those concerns.
My Evict will not be going into hibernation – as its still gonna sail with me, mounted to the Grappler, once tog jigging season comes around once again. THAT’S where all that internal high-strength stainless steel really will make the difference. In my opinion, anyway.
So that’s where I’m at for the coming season, as it pertains to “Must bring along” fluke outfits. I would like to hear your thoughts on what choices I’ve made, as well as what you consider your “must-brings.”
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