Heading out to montauk this weekend to finally get out for some fluke fishing and wanted to see how some of you guys approach fluke fishing when the water is cold early in the season. Bucktails with gulp definitely still produce but was wondering with the water still on the colder side and the fish being more sluggish do some of you use bait and have more success then bucktailing? I plan on picking up some whole squids and was wondering what is your go to rig when using whole squid for fluke. Thanks in advance!
Whole Squid fluke rig
- Thread starter PaulF150
- Start date
If you can find them, the Owner BOA Rig has two hooks with one that adjusts (slides) to accommodate the size of your bait. I've used them for whole squid and bluefish strips. It's a simple and quick solution for your Montauk trip until you can learn to tie some 2 hook rigs yourself. YouTube has several instructional videos for tying 2 hook rigs.
Good Luck.
Good Luck.
Prior to getting into the fluke jigging thing in a big way, whole squid fished on a tandem rig was one of my favorite methods for hunting down the larger fish that we can see here on the South Shore. I make up my own rig with a 4/0 Gami Octopus snelled on the end of a 36" leader (50lb test leader material NOT mono fishing line, which is too limp, IMO). Next, I snell a 4/0 Octopus to the main leader in such a way that its actually snelled around the main line. This permits me to slide that second hook fwd or back to the proper position - depending on the size of the squid I've selected for bait.
What I do then is to take the squid and strip off the two wings and throw them overboard. Leaving them on will do nothing for you except make the bait spin on the leader as its pulled through the water. This wing-tossing can also have an occasional excellent side result as a couple of times we had a nice Mahi come under the boat and eat those wings as we tossed them overboard. A quick flip with a GULP! shrimp-tipped bucktail by my alert fishin' buddy put those beautiful fish right in the fish box.
Anyway, I then take the bottom hook of the rig and drive it into the squid's head, dead-nuts right between the eyes. Next the sliding hook gets positioned up on the leader such that the barb will go right thru the foremost tip of the mantle, about 1/3" from the tip itself. It is hyper-critical that space between the two hooks is properly set by the positioning of sliding hook, otherwise the squid will spin in the water and not catch a thing. The squid MUST lay straight against the leader. If there's the slightest curve to the squid's body it will completely twist up your leader and make a major mess for you to untangle at the end of a strangely unproductive drift. When you get the rig into the boat you will see exactly why you had no takers on that last drift.
If you feel that such a rig is not something that you can tie properly, then there are commercially available versions like the Owner "Boa" that will do perfectly well for you.
I have to believe though that one good reason to read this board is to better hone your personal fishing skills. And learning the terminal tackle side of things is one of the more enjoyable sides to this knowledge search. For me at least there's little in the hobby that gives me more satisfaction than mastering a new rigging technique, and then applying it in a manner that puts some nice fish in the box. So I would encourage you to learn how to make up this sliding rig.
Here's the key point - when you chinch that sliding hook's snell snug, don't make it so tight that you can't move the hook up and down the main leader. The key to this rig is applying just the right amount of tension to that sliding hook's snell such that it can be adjusted fairly easily, yet still holds tight enough to the main leader that it pulls the squid straight thru the water. Takes a bit of practice to get it just right, but once you learn it, it stays with you forever. No worse than tying an improved blood knot, just different.
As far as what to do with squid that get mangled by short strikes or dogfish attacks - I save those mantles and strip them out for use on another rod that I fish on the opposite (Or up-tide side) of the boat - fished dead-stick style out of an angled side-rigger type rod holder. On that setup - typically a reel in the Calcutta 400/Abu 6500 class, mounted on a fairly stout rod - the Daiwa Proteus PRSS64HB comes to mind. I have a B/S rig set up with a super-heavy sinker (Think 10 to 16oz to to hold that rig close to vertical relative to the boat, so that the delicate braid doesn't rub on the boat's bottom) and large teaser or big 6" GULP jigging grub with a long, thin strip of that damaged squid on it.
Its a cool thing to see that rod get hit and take a deep bend as a large fluke realizes that he just made the mistake of his life. Probably the last one he's gonna get a chance to make, if I play my cards right.
Now if your whole squid had gotten mangled in its mid-section, such that the head and tentacles are still intact, that's still something of a bonus. Use that head on the teaser. Big fluke think of a squid head tipped teaser like I think of a fresh, warm Krispie Kreme "Original" - it just won't last very long.
Oh, one last thing - for this specific technique I greatly prefer the frozen West Coast squids that are sold frozen in 3lb bricks. Exactly the right size for this fishing and unlike 90% of the fresh local stuff that the better fish markets sell for human consumption, the heads of the Pacific squids are typically still tight in the body, not falling out of them. I hate that and find loose heads counterproductive to my efforts. For fishing on a sliding snell rig, this makes a huge difference.
What I do then is to take the squid and strip off the two wings and throw them overboard. Leaving them on will do nothing for you except make the bait spin on the leader as its pulled through the water. This wing-tossing can also have an occasional excellent side result as a couple of times we had a nice Mahi come under the boat and eat those wings as we tossed them overboard. A quick flip with a GULP! shrimp-tipped bucktail by my alert fishin' buddy put those beautiful fish right in the fish box.
Anyway, I then take the bottom hook of the rig and drive it into the squid's head, dead-nuts right between the eyes. Next the sliding hook gets positioned up on the leader such that the barb will go right thru the foremost tip of the mantle, about 1/3" from the tip itself. It is hyper-critical that space between the two hooks is properly set by the positioning of sliding hook, otherwise the squid will spin in the water and not catch a thing. The squid MUST lay straight against the leader. If there's the slightest curve to the squid's body it will completely twist up your leader and make a major mess for you to untangle at the end of a strangely unproductive drift. When you get the rig into the boat you will see exactly why you had no takers on that last drift.
If you feel that such a rig is not something that you can tie properly, then there are commercially available versions like the Owner "Boa" that will do perfectly well for you.
I have to believe though that one good reason to read this board is to better hone your personal fishing skills. And learning the terminal tackle side of things is one of the more enjoyable sides to this knowledge search. For me at least there's little in the hobby that gives me more satisfaction than mastering a new rigging technique, and then applying it in a manner that puts some nice fish in the box. So I would encourage you to learn how to make up this sliding rig.
Here's the key point - when you chinch that sliding hook's snell snug, don't make it so tight that you can't move the hook up and down the main leader. The key to this rig is applying just the right amount of tension to that sliding hook's snell such that it can be adjusted fairly easily, yet still holds tight enough to the main leader that it pulls the squid straight thru the water. Takes a bit of practice to get it just right, but once you learn it, it stays with you forever. No worse than tying an improved blood knot, just different.
As far as what to do with squid that get mangled by short strikes or dogfish attacks - I save those mantles and strip them out for use on another rod that I fish on the opposite (Or up-tide side) of the boat - fished dead-stick style out of an angled side-rigger type rod holder. On that setup - typically a reel in the Calcutta 400/Abu 6500 class, mounted on a fairly stout rod - the Daiwa Proteus PRSS64HB comes to mind. I have a B/S rig set up with a super-heavy sinker (Think 10 to 16oz to to hold that rig close to vertical relative to the boat, so that the delicate braid doesn't rub on the boat's bottom) and large teaser or big 6" GULP jigging grub with a long, thin strip of that damaged squid on it.
Its a cool thing to see that rod get hit and take a deep bend as a large fluke realizes that he just made the mistake of his life. Probably the last one he's gonna get a chance to make, if I play my cards right.
Now if your whole squid had gotten mangled in its mid-section, such that the head and tentacles are still intact, that's still something of a bonus. Use that head on the teaser. Big fluke think of a squid head tipped teaser like I think of a fresh, warm Krispie Kreme "Original" - it just won't last very long.
Oh, one last thing - for this specific technique I greatly prefer the frozen West Coast squids that are sold frozen in 3lb bricks. Exactly the right size for this fishing and unlike 90% of the fresh local stuff that the better fish markets sell for human consumption, the heads of the Pacific squids are typically still tight in the body, not falling out of them. I hate that and find loose heads counterproductive to my efforts. For fishing on a sliding snell rig, this makes a huge difference.
As far as HOW I fish a tandem-rigged squid - well, many will not agree with my method, but this is how I do it - over sand, that is. NEVER over rubble. Dead-sticking over rubble is an invitation to make the tackle manufacturers rich.
I pretty much always dead-stick this type of rig. Others will disagree, some pretty violently, saying that its better to jig or drop-back on the hit or whatever it is that works well for them. God bless 'em, but for me the dead-stick works great with whole squid baits. I believe this is due to the way my boat's hull rolls gently in everything but a typhoon - which gives my lures or baits a nice rhythmic up and down jigging motion. I also believe that too many people play around way too much with the old "Should I strike now? - Should I drop back? conundrum.
Here's what I do: I put the rig out and sit down on my inboard engine box like a gentleman, have a Diet Pepsi, and watch the rod tip like a hawk. After about 2 minutes I will have a good handle on how the tip is bowing to the waves as they roll under the boat that particular day. Any twitch or slight bounce in those tips OTHER THAN that regular rhythmic movement is a "tip-off," that somebody's interested in what I have to offer. Now come decision time. Pick up the rod and attempt to tease the fish into taking the bait deeper into its mouth, or chill and let the fish put a real bend in the rod?
Good question. I generally go with "Plan B" until its been sufficiently proven to me that its not working. I like to see that rod bend waaay over with the weight of the fish before I pick it up out of the rod holder. Once that deep bend is in the rod, odds are that the fish has a real good lip-lock on my bait and even better are the odds that the needle-sharp hand-honed hook(s) I use will have already set deeply in the fish's mouth.
If I pick up the rod and the fish manages to outfox me and lets go of my bait, first, I curse really loudly (I find this to be a critical part of the process - double bonus points if you can do it in Italian), then I'll give a few 6” twitches with just the very tip of the rod. I'm thinkin' to make the bait look like its injured, but doesn't have quite the strength to really get away. Most fluke will come back and hit the rig again, if only out of meanness. And they are a mean and fearless predator, of that there is little doubt.
So that's how I do it. Well, did it. I don't fish this way any longer, but there is no denying that it would still be a very effective method. Many of the major fluke (say over 7lbs or so) that I've caught have come to me on the dead sticked squid. That includes my personal best of 11lbs 2oz, caught on, you guessed it, a tandem-rig whole squid, fished dead-stick style.
I pretty much always dead-stick this type of rig. Others will disagree, some pretty violently, saying that its better to jig or drop-back on the hit or whatever it is that works well for them. God bless 'em, but for me the dead-stick works great with whole squid baits. I believe this is due to the way my boat's hull rolls gently in everything but a typhoon - which gives my lures or baits a nice rhythmic up and down jigging motion. I also believe that too many people play around way too much with the old "Should I strike now? - Should I drop back? conundrum.
Here's what I do: I put the rig out and sit down on my inboard engine box like a gentleman, have a Diet Pepsi, and watch the rod tip like a hawk. After about 2 minutes I will have a good handle on how the tip is bowing to the waves as they roll under the boat that particular day. Any twitch or slight bounce in those tips OTHER THAN that regular rhythmic movement is a "tip-off," that somebody's interested in what I have to offer. Now come decision time. Pick up the rod and attempt to tease the fish into taking the bait deeper into its mouth, or chill and let the fish put a real bend in the rod?
Good question. I generally go with "Plan B" until its been sufficiently proven to me that its not working. I like to see that rod bend waaay over with the weight of the fish before I pick it up out of the rod holder. Once that deep bend is in the rod, odds are that the fish has a real good lip-lock on my bait and even better are the odds that the needle-sharp hand-honed hook(s) I use will have already set deeply in the fish's mouth.
If I pick up the rod and the fish manages to outfox me and lets go of my bait, first, I curse really loudly (I find this to be a critical part of the process - double bonus points if you can do it in Italian), then I'll give a few 6” twitches with just the very tip of the rod. I'm thinkin' to make the bait look like its injured, but doesn't have quite the strength to really get away. Most fluke will come back and hit the rig again, if only out of meanness. And they are a mean and fearless predator, of that there is little doubt.
So that's how I do it. Well, did it. I don't fish this way any longer, but there is no denying that it would still be a very effective method. Many of the major fluke (say over 7lbs or so) that I've caught have come to me on the dead sticked squid. That includes my personal best of 11lbs 2oz, caught on, you guessed it, a tandem-rig whole squid, fished dead-stick style.
Here's a Youtube vid illustrating how to tie a sliding hook tandem rig:
Thanks Lep, I'm starting to make the rigs now! Seeing i will be on a charter I doubt i will have the luxury of deadsticking the whole squid. Now the age old question on decided what set up to use for this rig. Seeing the conditions now I'm assuming i'm going need to decent amount of lead but can't decide between a rod with a fast tip or a more moderate rod. I don't bait fish for fluke ever so if you got any pointers i'd be much appreciated. Really between my Lami 7030 or my Blackhole charter special MH.
The Lami 7030 is a very stout stick - most suitable for big, deep water blackish and bunker-dunking livies for bass. Of the two you picked, unless you need a truly ridiculous amount of lead, I'd go with the BH, all day, every day.
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