Holding Bottom

[Down The Hatch]

It seems this year we have to have an awful lot of weight on to keep our baits on the bottom. Is this because of all the south winds we have been getting?

[Gerry Zagorski]

A hard wind will make it difficult to hold bottom for sure because it makes the boat move faster. Some days when the wind is not blowing the current will do this as well... When you have a heavy current sometimes moving will help.

[Down The Hatch]

Thanks for the information. Just haven't noticed it so much as this year.

[Papasown]

Try using a sea anchor ( drough)) to slow down your drift. or let out a bit more line. Works for me, but the low water tempts don't help the last couple of weeks...........

[Broad Bill]

Flip side to your question is a ripping current will push bait fish to the bottom, disorient them and in many cases put fish on a feeding binge. The issue, like Capt. Ron and others harp on, is you need to adjust to heavier tackle, rod, bucktail etc to stay as vertical as possible or your presentation won't work. Perfect example, years ago was fishing the cape and when the full moon tides was roaring we were slaying cod and pollock. As soon as the tide slowed, you could see on the finder the balled up schools of sand eels dispersed and the bite died. As soon as the tide turned and picked back up, sand eels balled up again on the bottom and it was lights out fishing. When heavy currents push bait down to fluke, they feed but noodle rods won't get the job done. Adjust your rod, weight of your jig, cast up current and work the bucktail back even if it's only for 30 seconds but believe me a hard current is a good thing for fluke fishing as long as you adjust your presentation to accommodate the faster drift. If it's a hard south, all bets are off. The bite will turn off like someone flipped a switch

[Jigman13]

Drop your lb test to a lighter braid if possible too. That'll help with scoping. I fish #20 on my conventional and #10 to #15 on my spinning tackle when fluking. If you hook a big fish, just take your time and make sure your drag is set properly.

[Detour66]

I always bring 3 different rod & reel setups when I fish the ocean. First setup for 2-4ozs of lead. 2nd 4-6 oz and 3rd 6-10 oz. This way I can adjust to the different conditions and what is needed to hold bottom. Also back trolling can help also if the conditions are right and don't forget casting up current and working your jig. All of the tips that I read in this thread are good. Tight Lines!

[Gerry Zagorski]

Great info above... When it's hard to hold bottom I usually switch from a jig to bait and it sometimes it requires up to 10 ounces when fishing deep areas with lots of current like the Ambrose channel. The problem with jigging in these sort of conditions is you have to let too much line out to stay on or near the bottom and as mentioned above, the presentation is no longer straight up and down. You also can hardly feel the bottom which leads to more snags.

And yes braided line makes a big difference since it's line diameter is a lot smaller than mono and has a lot less resistance so less weight is needed.

Some good discussion on Bucktaling for fluke in this thread too https://www.njfishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122468

[Down The Hatch]

Thanks to everyone who responded to this post. Lots of good information that will help!

[Gerry Zagorski]

Thanks for the information. Just haven't noticed it so much as this year.

I noticed it a lot over this past winter and into the early spring Blackfishing. Anchored up in flat calm with no wind and the screaming current forced you to use 10 ounces to keep your bait in place.

[wyldbillnj]

Another thing that should come to mind is the line diameter. The thinner the diameter of braid... or mono if you still use it...also affects the drag of your line through the water. Some braid rated at 25lb test is so thin, you can use 1 oz lighter weight than others and get the same result of holding bottom.