Fluke Rigs and Baits

You don't need anything fancy to catch fluke on bait. A three-way swivel, a sinker or bucktail, a hook or two, and a few cheap baits will catch fish anywhere fluke live. The skill is in matching the rig to the bottom and the drift, and in putting a bait on the hook that moves right.

One rule ties all of it together: fluke want a moving bait near the bottom. Every rig below is built to keep a bait just off the bottom while the boat drifts or the current carries it.

The rigs

Three-way swivel rig (the classic)

The simplest fluke rig and the one most party boats and rental boats use.

1. Tie your main line to one eye of a three-way swivel.
2. On the second eye, tie a short piece of lighter line (6 to 12 inches) to a bank sinker heavy enough to hold bottom.
3. On the third eye, tie about 18 inches to 3 feet of 20-pound fluorocarbon to a single hook.

Drift it so the sinker taps bottom and the bait trails just above it. A long leader suits large or live baits on a fast drift.

Three-way with a bucktail (two-bait rig)

A step up, and the rig a lot of veteran fluke anglers fish every day.

• On the sinker eye, tie a 10- to 12-inch leader to a bucktail tipped with a strip of squid or a piece of clam. The bucktail is your weight and a baited lure at the same time.
• On the other eye, tie an 18- to 24-inch leader to an unweighted hook, dressed with a small feather or a bit of mylar if you like, with a different bait, often a live killie.

Start with two different baits. When one is clearly catching more, put that bait on both hooks. Pick a bucktail heavy enough to touch bottom only now and then; one that drags gets fouled with weed and eaten by crabs.

High-low rig

A bucktail or heavier jig on the bottom and a second hook on a dropper loop above it, roughly 18 inches up. Put a scented soft-plastic grub, a strip, or a small teaser on the top hook. Many fluke follow the bottom jig up and take the top bait. The raised hook also stays above weed and snags. See Drifting and Bucktailing for Fluke for how to work it.

Fish-finder rig for big strips and live baits

A sinker on a slide above a swivel, then a leader of a few feet to one or two hooks. The bait swims or flutters freely in the current. This is the rig for long strip baits, live snapper blues, spot and killies, and big whole squid. Use a two-hook "sliding snell" for long baits: one hook in the head end and a second hook farther back.

Popcorn rig

Two light jigs or soft-plastic grubs on dropper loops above a sinker or a heavy bucktail. It works best over clean, sandy, snag-free bottom where you can keep both hooks just off the sand.

Hooks

Use bigger hooks than you think: 4/0 to 6/0. Fluke have big mouths, and big hooks make it less likely that a short fish swallows the hook deep, so it survives release.

The baits

Killies (mummichogs)

Live killies are a top fluke bait. Hook them through the lips. They'll live a long time if you keep them cool and moist in a bucket or small cooler. Drop them down gently rather than casting hard, which can tear them off the hook.

Spearing (silversides)

Fresh or frozen spearing work alone or paired with a squid strip. Fluke often bite them in half, so hook them toward the tail, or use a second hook near the tail, if you're missing fish.

Squid strips

The standard strip bait. Cut a strip 3 to 6 inches long and under an inch wide, wider at the top and tapering to a point. Hook it once through the wide end so it trails straight. A squid strip with a killie or spearing on the same hook is one of the most effective fluke baits there is.

Fish strips

Thin fillet strips cut from fish such as bluefish, mackerel, sea robin, herring or menhaden flutter in the current. Fluke belly makes one of the best strips of all, where your state's rules allow it.

• Size it to the season. In spring, cut strips about 4 to 5 inches long and a quarter inch wide to match the small bait fluke are eating. By summer you can go up to 8 to 10 inches for bigger fish.
• Trim and taper. A strip should be thin, even and tapered so it swims smoothly. A thick or uneven strip spins instead of fluttering.

Whole squid

For bigger fluke, rig a whole 6- to 8-inch squid on a two-hook rig: one hook in the mantle (body) and one just behind the eyes, so the squid hangs straight. Turn the hook points up to avoid snagging the bottom.

Live fish

Live spot, snapper bluefish and peanut bunker are top baits for the biggest fluke. Hook them through the lips or through the back just in front of the dorsal fin, and fish them on the fish-finder rig.

Scented soft plastics

Scented soft-plastic grubs, shrimp and minnows have changed fluke fishing. They have action even when just dragged along the bottom, they last for several fish, and you don't need to keep anything alive. A 4- to 5-inch grub on the top hook of a high-low, or tipping a bucktail, is standard. White and natural colors are dependable; pink and chartreuse are worth trying.

Hooking fish on bait

With a bucktail, you set hard as soon as you feel weight. With bait, give the fish a moment. When you feel a fluke pick up the bait (often it feels like weight, or like you're stuck on the bottom), drop the rod tip a little or give a bit of line, then reel slowly until the line comes tight. The fish turns away and hooks itself. With big baits, give it a little longer.

Once it's on, keep steady pressure, and land every fluke with a net. They're famous for falling off at the rail.

Tackle

A 5½- to 7-foot rod with a conventional or spinning reel and 10- to 20-pound line handles most fluke fishing. A conventional reel makes it easy to let line out gently on the drift and to give line when a fish takes the bait.

Before you go

Fluke size limits, bag limits and seasons are set by each state and change often. Check your state's current saltwater rules before you go.