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Wait a second; did you just say that you’ve been jigging grouper with a fly rod?
Yup, that’s exactly what I said. I know it sounds a little off the
wall, but I’m telling you Patrick, it all makes sense. Get down here
and check it out for yourself…
It call came together when my close friend from Jersey, Capt. Patrick Scaccia, flew down to Key West to see with his own eyes if the exciting new tactic I’ve been raving about for months was really worth a grain of salt. I had stumbled upon a technique that connected me with a wide variety of bottom fish that I was completely missing out on; namely, some leader shy mangrove snapper and more than a handful of reluctant red grouper. About a month later, after spending two days with me exploring a variety of wrecks, reefs and other assorted pieces of broken bottom, and witnessing 9 different species fall victim to ‘fly rod jigging’, Patrick was a firm believer!
Joining us on the reconnaissance trips were Pat’s brother, Chip, who also flew down from New Jersey, and Richard, an equally accomplished angler and close friend. Since these were strictly experimental trips in the hopes of proving to myself once and for all if a fly rod could out-produce conventional tackle in this particular application, Richard was designated bait fisherman #1 and prohibited from laying hands on any of the fly gear. By the time it was all over, the three of us who were limited to an 11-weight fly rod each out-fished Richard 3 to 1. Before they flew home the Scaccia brothers both commented, “This isn’t fishing, it’s cheating!”
Many would argue that bouncing jigs off a reef or wreck with the use of a fly rod isn’t fly-fishing at all. There’s barely any casting involved, no complicated leader system to worry about, and you practically don’t even need to know how to strip. Enthusiasts who have mastered the art of fly-fishing will tell you that jigging a bucktail or soft plastic jig 50 ft. below with a fly rod should be considered nothing more than conventional fishing with the use of fly equipment.
Critics are 100% correct! This isn’t fly-fishing. Nobody ever claimed it was, at least not by the pure definition. Realistically, attempting to jig bottom fish with a fly rod only makes sense under ideal conditions, in depths less than 90 ft. with fish that are stoppable. It’s obvious the tactic could never work out on the Middle Grounds, where you’re dropping baits hundreds of feet with an exceptional amount of lead. The technique is simply another approach to add to your overall bag of tricks, one that under appropriate conditions has proven deadly.
I originally discovered fly rod jigging by somewhat of an accident while fishing with fly-fishing aficionado, Capt Frank Menser. Mesner spends an entire month every year touring New Zealand with his fly rod in hand before heading down to the Florida Keys each May to look for tarpon. A couple years back, I invited Frank to join me on a bottom fishing expedition and encouraged him to bring along his 11-weight in the event we spotted any cruising cobia.
We departed Key West Harbor in the early morning light headed for the Marquesas. Right out of the gate we found a slow pick over a favorite set of numbers on the Atlantic side. With a lull in the action, Mesner decides to do a little experimenting. I thought he swallowed a little too much saltwater when he proceeded to re-rig his fly rod with a small yellow jig. He tipped the bucktail with a juicy strip of squid, stripped out a bunch of line, and dropped the ½ oz. jig to the bottom. What occurred next shocked us all.
In one swift motion Frank swept the long rod to a near vertical position, sweeping the jig up and way from the bottom. As the sweetened bucktail fluttered back down, it got nailed! A fair tussle later and a chunky red grouper appeared from the depths. Frank giggled a bit, re-baited and repeated the process. Two sweeps later and would you believe it, WHAM! A decent size gag grouper inhales the same squid tipped jig. This time the battle was a little more dramatic, though with his skills, Frank made it look easy. Over the next 20 minutes or so the process occurred two more times before the rest of us even had a single strike. What in the world was going on?
Two weeks later, and now more curious than ever, I again invited Frank to join me on another bottom fishing trip in the hopes of determining if this so called fly rod jigging, was really an effective technique or just a ‘one time’ fluke. I’m not sure if it had any relevance, but on this occasion we headed to a few different wrecks and ledges out in the Gulf. We picked a few snapper and grouper at each spot, but none of us caught any of the line-shy gray snapper that we were primarily targeting, other than Frank that is. He connected with keeper mangrove after keeper mangrove using nothing more than his trusty 11-weight. Why was Frank doing so well? Something with that high sweeping motion was obviously triggering a far greater number of strikes. He was literally embarrassing us. It had to be the fly rod!
By early afternoon the falling tide slacked and even Frank’s hot mangrove bite completely fizzled out. Not uncommon. Now faced with zero current, Frank’s jig was actually bouncing off the bottom and immediately connected with red grouper. We were completely amazed!
Confident his new found tactic proved its worthiness, Captain Frank hesitantly handed the fly rod to one of the lady anglers onboard who readily admitted up until that day, didn’t even know what a fly rod was. A quick lesson later, and she’s jumping for joy. She too proceeds to jig a pair of decent reds. With the conventional gear she couldn’t buy a bite, but when Frank put the fly rod in her hands she made short work of two quality fish. She was having so much fun; Frank could barely pry the fly rod away from her. As soon as the tide started to flood and the jig fluttered higher in the water column, he was back to catching snapper. By the time the trip came to a close, Frank again out-fished the rest of us combined! That’s twice this jigging technique worked wonders. Had we really stumbled upon something new and exciting?
Here it is after long hours of trial and error over different types of bottom in varying depths of water, and I’ve concluded that under the right conditions, fly rod jigging drives bottom fish mad! The high sweeps of the jig force fish to instinctively take notice, even when they’re not in the feeding mode. Sure, when the tide is flowing at a steady clip and all kinds of bait are passing right by them, grouper will often inhale just about anything. But the fact that this somewhat odd ball tactic is also effective during slack tide clearly means something else is at play here.
I know this may sound odd but imagine if you were a grouper. You’re hovering comfortably in your lair trying to mind your own business when out of nowhere, an attractive looking bait comes fluttering right by your nose. Suddenly, the bait races toward the surface, only to reappear seconds later. Hungry or not, any carnivore isn’t about to let an easy meal escape a second or third time. Natural predatory behavior kicks in and force the fish to commit out of shear vengeance, and most often when the ‘bait’ is swimming away.
By now, you may be asking how in the world are you stopping powerful grouper with a somewhat flimsy fly rod? Initially, I wondered the same thing. But as I mentioned, most of the fish grab the jig on the upswing so you already have the fish headed your way. Secondly, I’ve learned the flexibility of the long fly rod acts as a giant shock absorber when a powerful grouper attempts to scurry back to his hole. You can land 100 lb. tarpon on an 11-weight, why not 20 lb. grouper?
My time on the water has proven drifting over an appealing stretch of broken bottom is the best method of approach when employing the fly rod jigging technique. Each time we hook a few fish, I hit ‘save’ on the plotter so I can drift the same stretch again. If there still biting after a few passes, I reposition and anchor over the most active piece. If I find a couple dozen sweeps of the fly rod doesn’t attract any attention, I move on! It’s not that the fish aren’t willing to bite; I’m convinced they are simply not there.
What goes on the end of the fly line is pretty much a matter of personal preference. I’ve found just about any weighted jig will do with 1/2 or 3/4 oz. yellow or white bucktails tipped with squid strips ideal. In my ongoing attempt to perfect the tactic, I’ve also done real well with 4 in. soft plastic mullet imitations, DOA TerrorEyz, and a variety of soft bodied jigs. Grouper jump on these baits like cotton candy to a bunch of nursery school children.
Rigging for fly rod jigging couldn’t be easier. Again, we’re not trying to break any IGFA records here so leader systems don’t have to be extravagant. An 11-weight rod is fine with 6 ft. of fluorocarbon leader tied directly to the end of your sinking or intermediate fly line all that is required. If you’re having trouble reaching the bottom, add an appropriate egg sinker at the end of the fly line with the swivel of a barrel-swivel.
Allowing the jig to rest on the bottom for a moment or two before sweeping the rod tip to an almost vertical position, will result in the greatest number of strikes. I’ve also found that I get hung-up substantially less when compared to fishing with conventional gear. After witnessing time and time again how productive this tactic can be, I now have six complete fly rod outfits so everyone onboard can get in on the action.
If the idea of jigging grouper intrigues you, try the technique the next time you’re out bottom fishing and see how well it works for you. It’s an excellent way to introduce fly-fishing to men, women, and children of all ages and all experience levels. Sure, it’s not the technical fly-fishing as most of know it today, but it is a great way to introduce ‘newbies’ to the tackle. They may just enjoy fishing with fly gear so much that they never give it up, like the lady who caught those grouper that day a couple years back. Her husband recently called to thank me. His said his wife is now the proud owner of three different fly rod outfits and refuses to fish any other way.
Coming Soon:Capt. Frank Piku’s exciting new video How to Catch Grouper & Snapper on a Fly Rod
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