Post your 2019-2024 Fluke Pix & Trip Reports Here!

hartattack said:
Went to Nantucket Shoals this weekend - amazing Fluke quality. My just under 10 pounder wasn't even a pool contender. On second day we slayed the Haddock in 200' of water after Georges Bank codfishing in 300' yielded only Pollock. There's a new Mecca (y) View attachment 9172
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WOW!!
Nice job. Based on the background it looks like you had a beautiful day(y)
Congrats to you AND your buddy that won the pool
 
Leprechaun said:
Smokin' nice fishing! How much weight were you fishing with during the fluke portion of the trip?
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depending on constantly changing current, up to 28 oz ! But I was able to use merely 20 ounces most of the day. I rigged with naked hi-low : Gulp and fluke belly, most 'regulars' use popcorn hi-low rig. Cod/Pollock
cspoll.webp
Jigging at Georges Bank was even heavier/deeper :eek:
 
Huh! I can't imagine using that much weight whilst fluking!

What is your preferred rod/reel for such fishing?
 
Leprechaun said:
Huh! I can't imagine using that much weight whilst fluking!

What is your preferred rod/reel for such fishing?
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I've been doing this trip every first weekend in August for 4 years now and I think I've finally zeroed in on the proper gear. I use a Phenix Megalodon rod rated PE4-8. Whatever reel you use should have a long power handle (not just a power knob). Hi--speed gearing helps reeling in from so deep but losing torque hurts when getting up off bottom. I now use a CAnyon HS-15, its 6:1 ratio is the sweet spot (for me) between too much cranking vs. too little power. My buddies at Jigging World were using 2-speed reels and as always they were dialed in. The rod should be strong enuff to swing anything you don't want gaffed. Up there they gaff all Fluke, so if you wanna release 'em you better swing 'em. You definitely need a the lightest, strongest gear possible - using 24+ cod-jigs/fluke rigs will knock the crap out of you. On Saturday we fished from 8:30am to 8 pm. On Sunday we fished from 6am to 2:30pm. I used to use my Tog Gear and would really feel it the next day; with the set-up above I was actually not as sore yesterday as I've been in past. Yong from Jigging World did not accompany us but his crew were using their various proprietary rods also rated PE4-8. It's a lot of work but pay-off is a lot of smiles :):):):)

Since this is a Fluke Pic thread I apologize for posting non-Fluke pics and now attach one of my son's 11+ pool winning fluke from last year (and a cool looking REd Cod)
bhpool18.webp
bhredcod.webp
.
 
Wow, that's really some "combat-level" fluke fishing! I don't think I'm in good enough shape to make one of those trips! I thought you guys topped out around 12oz or so. My total naivete on the subject is showing!

Regarding the red cod - many, many years ago we used to see the red cod when spring fishing at SW Ledge off Block Island. At the time the popular thought was that the red ones ate kelp off the ledge, but I never bought that line of B/S. I thought then and still think now that some codfish are just red, and that's that.

I do know we used to get what we called "Black Cod" off the South Shore "20-mile" wrecks - in the early Winter. The thinking back then was that the wreck-inhabiting cod would turn very dark-to-black because they were swimming in and out of the wrecks. The best wreck fishing private captain I ever knew said that the longer the fish were on the wreck, the darker they got. How he arrived at that conclusion always eluded me - but it sounded more plausible then kelp-eating cod turning red off Block island. LOL!
 
did the fluke thing again today..left in AM flat clam nice day had about six keepers till the weather changed east wind rain and fishing shut down

we stuck it out and it cleared up wind layed down a bit had two more keepers...
 
This fluke season has been a tooth-pull from the very first day. There are fish to be caught, but its been just a shadow of the great fishing we had the past 10 seasons. No limiting by 0830 in the morning THIS year. That’s for sure.
 
Sorry to hijack your Fluke thread Lep. However, you do correctly remember the Cod we caught on the SW ledge back in the 80's. This old photo may not really do them justice but these fish were actually close to orange in color! Note they are almost the same color as the orange straps on my Dad’s slicks. Some of the prettiest Cod I had ever seen!

orangecodv.webp
 
you know that our fluke fishing is way off not only from our personal experiences but also from commercials not being able to fill their quota..
 
Fished yesterday afternoon out of Debs on the 80' drops. Tough bite. Zero drift. Had to power drift to scrap together about a dozen shorts.
 
Have a friend that knows what he's doing hit the ABR on Sat with 2 other good jiggers aboard. 5 keeps in the 3-6lb class, plus a bunch of shorts for a full day of jigging the rubble. Supposed to have been good reports from there earlier last week, but not a great bite over the past weekend. Its just the way it is this season. Gotta make lemonade outta them lemons!
 
Sailing solo Sunday. Really looking fwd to it! Gives me a chance to look at some bottom I rarely fish, but might be ready to pop. The nice thing of fishing alone as Captain - no pressure to produce, the fun is in the exploring for an entire day. Just me and Sports Talk Radio. Nice! LGM!
 
As I wrote, sailed solo today - and seeing as I had no crew, the plan was to go to some drops that
haven't really paid off so far this season - places I normally wouldn't go, had I the pressure of producing fish for the crew. First drop on a pet piece of open bottom that has some "crust" to it. Hey, it gave me a 7lb fish earlier this season, so why not start there? Good a place as any.

Good call, 4-fish limit 20-23" on the first three drifts. Never even put a second "dead stick" in the water. The fish were freakin' suicidal from the minute I dropped down. No sea monsters, but probably only because I got out of there at 08:30, without further prospecting. Hey, the Mets go at 1:00, and I'll get to watch them in real time, vs. the DVR, for a change. There were plenty of "Jersey keepers" on top of the four legits I kept, so the fishing is finally starting to look solid.

IMG_0175.jpg
 
Leprechaun said:
As I wrote, sailed solo today - and seeing as I had no crew, the plan was to go to some drops that
haven't really paid off so far this season - places I normally wouldn't go, had I the pressure of producing fish for the crew. First drop on a pet piece of open bottom that has some "crust" to it. Hey, it gave me a 7lb fish earlier this season, so why not start there? Good a place as any.

Good call, 4-fish limit 20-23" on the first three drifts. Never even put a second "dead stick" in the water. The fish were freakin' suicidal from the minute I dropped down. No sea monsters, but probably only
because I got out of there at 08:30, without further prospecting. Hey, the Mets go at 1:00, and I'll get to watch them in real time, vs. the DVR, for a change. So, the fishing is finally starting to look solid, there were plenty of "Jersey keepers" on top of the four legits I kept.

View attachment 9396
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well done lep 8-) (y),,,,,,,,,,,,, ><))):>
><))):>
 
Eh, chalk today up to “Beginner’s Luck,” LOL! Here’s my wife’s version of Fluke Tacos, in a lettuce wrap - from last week:

D81E8DC9-5633-499E-91E9-F97A3E63CD45.jpeg
 
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