Fortescue Flukin

I went out on Saturday with a friend from work on our yearly fluke trip on the Bonanza II out of Fortescue NJ. Action was slow but steady for the most part on the boat, however my buddy and I didnt have a bite until after noon. Actually, my buddy didnt have a bite all day. I was using some ultra customized prototype D&D saltwater rigs that I tied up that I wanted to try especially for fluke. I think they are big fish rigs. When I finally got a bite, I caught a 23" doormat, on the one that had the 'nockamixon special' chartreuse/purple colored skirt from a smalljaws spinnerbait that i won from the crazyfish contest. I then proceeded to change rig colors and catch a nice 18" keeper, then solidified my pool win with a 24" doormat on yet another rig that i stole the skirts from another of my smalljaws spinnerbaits, this one was a more natural color. They were caught using a tasty sandwich of killie and home cut squid. They were a really nice way to finally break in my new Accurate B197C saltwater reel. I also caught a 50lb piece of rope that must have fallen off a barge or something. What fight. Talk about hauling in a log. It was a great day to be out, and Captain Joe Jr. put us on fish all day. A few of the regulars on the boat that Ive seen from past years caught close to their limits. Some guy on down on the other end of the boat had such a hard hit that the fish pulled his rod overboard, as he wasnt paying attention. Fortunately the drift was right, and a little kid on the other side of the boat snagged the rod, with the fish still on it hehe. I guess the guy who lost the rod owns a sportings goods store and is going to give the kid a new rod and reel, plus he gave him the fish too. By the way, did I mention I won the big fish pool? 155 bucks. Ive been on the Bonanza II three times, and won the pool twice.

Here's a pic of me with them doormats. one was 23", one was 24", they both weighed the same at about 4.25 lbs each.
Heres a pic of the weapon of choice. Check out that shiny sexy reel.

Wading the Delaware for Bronzebacks

A nice Delaware River smallie caught on 4" Yamamoto Senko in the magic color, 3/0 Xpoint hook, Parasite Tungsten weight, Sunline Shooter Defier 13lb test line, G Loomis Bronzeback spinning rod, Team Daiwa Sol 2000 spinning reel.
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JDM Certate 2500R

Well, time to show off some more of my sexy tackle. this time it's not a lure, but a reel. not any reel, but a sexy Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) model Daiwa Certate spinning reel. not only does it have a sexy blue color, but it has many improvements over a regular US model Certate.

For one, it has an amazing 16 lbs of smoooth smooooooth drag! A regular reel of it's size would maybe have 7 lbs max. It is improved by having the heavier duty gearbox of the 3000 size Certate but the rotor of the 2500, which means upgraded power and durability with the same size spool. It also comes with a machined handle as compared to the forged one on a regular Certate.

Here's a few pictures of my Certate:
The bottom of the reel foot:

The front of the spool, and drag knob. 16lbs baby! BTW, it is spooled up with 12lb test Gamma Edge copolymer line.
A side shot of the spool:
The side opposite the handle. Check out the quality of manufacture and attention to detail!
This reel is awesome. Now I just need an appropriate rod to match it up with, as the Crazyfish Custom rod I intended to match it up with isn't working out quite as I had hoped.