“Big baits catch big fish” and this hold true for fluke.  A six or eight inch sardine or smelt with a long piece of fluke belly is a killer for big fluke however many fish are not hooked because they bite at the trailing end of the bait and miss the hook.  When using large baits I always employ a double hook rig.  I snell two 5/0 hooks about five inches apart on my fluke rigs.  I put the lead hook through the eyes of the bait and insert the trailing hook somewhere near the tail of the bait.  When you drift or slow troll and a fluke chased the bait and bites at the trailing end, there will be a hook waiting for him and you will catch the big boys.  This nice catch of fluke to 9 pounds was made using double hook rigs.

A live snapper is an excellent bait for big weakfish and fluke.  I like to fish them on a smaller version of a live bait rig that is used for striped bass.  Tie a drail (torpedo sinker) that is heavy enough to get the bait to the bottom to the end of your line.  Attach a four-foot leader of 40-pound test mono to the drail and tie on a 2/0 treble hook.  Insert one hook of the treble into the nose of the bait and fish it near the bottom.  This rig will catch the biggest weakfish and fluke.  This is Ed, Steve and Bernie of Seaview with nice bluefish caught on live snappers.

When fishing around the offshore reef for fluke, work the edges of the structure.  The big fluke hang close to the bottom structure waiting to pick off some unsuspecting little baitfish.  Watch your sonar recorder closely and try to drop your fluke rig as close to the wreckage as possible.  If you do this you will surely catch a doormat as a reward.  This is a shot of two fluke over 6 pounds and a 12 pound bluefish caught on the edge of a piece of structure on the offshore Fire Island Reef.