EP 60: Bucktails That Consistently Catch Fish

A bucktail can be the most forgiving lure in your box—or the most finely tuned instrument—depending on how you build and fish it. We sat down with Ed of Captain Hank’s Tackle to break Bucktails 101 into practical choices that catch more fish: the right head for your water, the right hook for your bite, and the right hair for your target.

We start with head shapes and what they actually do underwater. Ball heads ride clean and keep the point up for back bay fluke. Minnow heads shift weight forward for a nose-down stance offshore. Skimmer heads shine on shallow flats, and smiling bills rule the surf for stripers with that subtle V-cut swim. From there we get into hook geometry: eye angle, shank length, and forged strength. Longer shanks and quality black nickel hooks convert more short-striking fluke, while stout wire prevents heartbreak when a striper, tog, or even an unexpected shark shows up.

Hair volume and profile decide whether you’re teasing or feeding. Sparse top-and-bottom ties streamline the silhouette for fluke and put steel in the mouth faster. Bulked-out striper ties leverage hollow hair to flare and control sink rate. We talk trailers and action—why grubs and paddles outfish static plastics—and how season and clarity change the playbook: light heads and four-inch baits in spring backwaters, heavier jigs and larger profiles as fish slide deeper. We compare real bucktail to silicone skirts for durability around blues and offshore work, and we touch on glow paints, strategic flash, and color-matching jig heads to Gulp favorites like new penny and nuclear chicken.

If you’ve ever wondered why one “identical” bucktail outperforms another, this conversation gives you the blueprint: pick the head for your hydrodynamics, the hook for your hookup, and the hair for your fish and water. Plus, we swap stories on tog jigs—including the surprisingly deadly “dirty diaper”—and share when to go plain jig head to save gear on wrecks. Subscribe for more practical tackle breakdowns, share this with a bucktail-obsessed friend, and drop a comment with your confidence color and head style so we can test it next time.

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Transcript

Reupload Intro And Setup

Ed Gobbo 0:00

You're, you know, season dependent on on what guys are wanting. Like I said, early season, they're they're using lightweight, three quarters, three-eighths, small stuff, trying to get them as light as they can just to get a strike. And then as the season moves on, they'll up their weight.

Meet Ed And Captain Hank’s Tackle

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 0:18

It's time for a throwback episode. This one was from 2021, the first time that Ed Goba, who ended up being a co-host for a time, came on to talk about BuckTales 101. This is a good episode that really should be out there, so I'm re-uploading it back to the platform. Keep in mind, this was 2021. Weren't really good at this thing back then, but uh all the production issues aside, it's an informative episode and it should be pretty enjoyable. Hello everybody, and welcome to the Fat Dad Fishing Stream. My name is Rich and I am the resident original Fat Dad for Fat Dad Fishing. Tonight is gonna be an awesome stream. Um, we're gonna be talking about one of the oldest, uh more traditional lures out there, one of the lures that you can pretty much catch anything on, and that is a bucktail. So tonight I am being joined by Ed, the owner of Captain Hank's Tackle. Ed, how are you doing? I'm doing well, Rich. How are you? Good, good. Thank you so much for uh for agreeing to spend some time with us tonight. Uh really appreciate it. Um pretty excited about this conversation. So before we get started, um really going into bucktails and everything like that, um, why don't you give everyone just an overview of you? What kind of fishing do you do, and a little bit about how Captain Hanks got started?

Ed Gobbo 1:39

So, uh, like most people, I started fishing with my dad as at a young age. Um fresh, mostly freshwater. Um, he used to dabble in saltwater stuff. Um recently we're both getting into it a lot more. Um and it's mostly back based stuff, um, fluke, striper, occasional weak fish when we can find them, um, stuff like that. Um Captain Hanks actually kind of started as a little bit of a joke. Um, it was a business, you know, born of COVID. Um, me and a good friend were you know looking around and um we we did a lot, we do a lot of fishing together still. Um, and we just got tired of buying stuff that didn't really perform. Um, you know, a lot of the big name stuff, you you do one drift and there's no paint left. Um, you know, so we we decided to to start that and uh you know here and we are today, trying to trying to make the best product we can.

Bucktail Types And Use Cases

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 2:35

Yeah, and and I think that's you know, that's a story that's that we're hearing more and more often, right? Of a lot of businesses born of the COVID and the pandemic and everything like that. Andrew, hello Andrew. Andrew's in the chat right now. Yeah, as as we jump into this, let me just say real quick, for those that are on the live stream, if you have any questions, any feedback, anything you want to talk about, put it right in the in the live chat. And for those that are watching the replay later, put them in the comments. I go through and answer every single comment on all of the videos, and I would have a direct line to Ed. So if you have questions specifically for him, I'm happy to reach out and he'll be happy to pass an answer back through me to you. We'll also go through Ed's contact information during this stream. So if you want to contact him directly and circumvent me, absolutely you can do that as well. So I just wanted to start off with that. And and Andrew, welcome. Thanks for thanks for joining us tonight. Um, so so let's kind of roll into a little bit about bucktails. I want to make sure that we talk about flounder and and flounder jigs because that is really the the the heart of what most of my subscribers really want to fish for. So let's talk a little bit about the the the bucktails for flounder. And as we roll into that, let's let's start off first of all by going into the different types of bucktails, you know, the the different types of variety that are out there and what you typically use and why.

Ed Gobbo 3:57

I mean, the what's the word I'm trying to say? I mean, there's there's so many different styles and jig head types and colors, and you know, it's a lot of personal preference. You know, like mine, I'll show you one like this this year. This was my color. This is was a teal and uh it's got a teal belly with a with a chartreuse top. That was that was my go-to pattern. It I think a lot of it has to do with confidence and and you know what guys are doing well with. It's it's it's very there's not a one size fits all. It's it's definitely very angler dependent, and even conditions, you know, certain colors are gonna show up better in dirtier water, clear water, yeah.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 4:40

Yeah, and and I think it's interesting, you know, a lot of people take the bucktail as you know, I don't think people realize the power of the bucktail, right? I mean, there are so many different kinds, and what I typically use is the ball jig, the jig, the ball head, which is which is more, you know, it's the round round head right there. I I typically use that, and it's more for, you know, in my mind, it's the best for all around and specifically for vertical jigging. And and you know, it also works really well with casting out, but there are a lot of different types, and a lot of them you don't actually see so much in the mid-Atlantic to northeast, like the skimmer or the flathead. I actually don't even have one that I can show anybody right now, but the the skimmer is one that is typically used for fishing flats, really shallow water, and it's just a flat jig head with the bucktail on it, and it it's really good for for pulling it over the shallow water. The minnow head is a popular one because of spro. You know, that's what everyone a lot of people actually call them spro heads now, but the it's it's the minnow head. It's it's another really good one for deep water jigging. I know you make those. Um smiling bill, which is that that's like the the original old man.

Ed Gobbo 5:53

Well, that's that's the quintessential like surf caster, you know. Most guys you see them you know up in like Sandy Hook and on the beaches, that's what they're throwing. That's just the the OG.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 6:03

Huge in New York, you know, for not just for Flounder, but but for Striper. I that that to me is the go-to. And and I don't know. I mean, it's really good for the surf, it's good for the deep retrieves, the way that it's set up. I just think I I just like the way it looks, and I get the hits. You know, I think I think it has a little bit to do with the red, the red mouth.

Ed Gobbo 6:25

I think I think more so with those with the smiling bills, I think it's actually the V that's cut in the in the head of it. I think it when the water hits it, it it'll want to move, you know, on your retrieve. I think that has a lot to do with it.

Seasonal Weights And Color Choices

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 6:38

Well, maybe that's it. I you know, I I what I should do is is use it a little bit more on the kayak and on the boat, you know. But I definitely use it in surf. Love it for striped bass. And then you have a whole bunch of other things. You have the wobble heads, you have the mushrooms, you got the bullets, the stand-ups, the footballs, you know, all of those different ones. What are the ones that you specifically really focus on for your market right now? What's the most popular?

Ed Gobbo 7:03

Right now, the most popular is actually it's not really not even a bucktail, it's more so a ball, just a standard ball jig, a lot of the offshore guys this time of year. I mean, now that the season's closed, a lot of guys start bucktail as light as they can inshore, you know, in bays and stuff like that. And then as the fish move offshore, they they start changing their patterns and what they're throwing. Beginning, it's really you're you know season dependent on on what guys are wanting. Like I said, early season, they're they're using lightweight, three-quarters, three-eighths, small stuff, you know, trying to get them as light as they can just to get a strike. And then, like I said, as as the season moves on, they'll up their weight, they'll up, you know, they'll change, change colors. Like I said before, the the watercolor uh clarity, it's got a lot to do with it.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 7:49

Yeah, it's a it's in a like in the spring, right? You got the small three-eighths, maybe a half ounce in the back. You're putting the smallest, I don't even know what size they are. They three inch, four-inch, the four-inch gulp. Yeah, little four inchers, yeah, a little four inchers, and and by the end of the season, you got a whole container of those things, and all you're throwing are five and six inches, you know. Like, for example, I was yeah, I was out the yesterday actually trying to scare something up in the wind, you know, going big and with the six inch on on the back. And you know, it it's what they're looking for, right? And and it's what we're looking for because let's be honest, at the beginning of the season, most of us, myself included, you just want to go out, you want to get some tight lines, you want to get some fish on. But as the season goes on, you become less about numbers, that becomes less important. It's like, you know what? I want one fish and I want it to be a plus 25, right? Or something like that. And so you're looking for the bigger baits and and the and the bigger fish that way. So so we've got the different styles. Like I said, I use the round head, but there's also another part of the jig head itself, right? So so the bucktail is broken down into different components. Um, you've got the jig, is is the the backbone of well, really it's the head, the hook, right?

Ed Gobbo 9:06

And then you have the hook is key.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 9:07

Yeah, the hook is a big thing, and then you have the the bucktail, which is what makes it a bucktail, and then you have the extras, right? But one thing that that I have found interesting is people don't necessarily think about the angle of the hook eye or the jig eye on there. So, you know, they're typically either 90 degrees or a 45 or a 60 degree, you know. What what are you seeing with that as far as what people are looking for?

Hook Eye Angles And Hydrodynamics

Ed Gobbo 9:32

It's again, it's on angler dependent. The most common thing like we're doing is the with the ball jigs. I have some right here. Of course, I didn't get the minnow head, but the angle of the hook eye and where it protrudes, you know, in relation to the jig itself has a lot to do with how your jig is gonna perform underwater. Now you gotta remember, we're you know, we're on land, we're in air, you know, this is there's really no forces acting on this. When it's underwater, you have currents, you have you know, fish other fish, you have you know things that are that are acting on it. My biggest thing is with with these with the ball heads is the angle of the you know of the hook. So when your line is tied on this will keep your jig, you know, imagine my hand being the ground, you know, it's keeping that your line wants to be vertical, so it's trying to keep that hook point up. So when a fish comes in and it grabs it. With the minnow heads, I of course I didn't bring one. There's a thousand outside, but it's not in here. With the minnow heads, it actually the the weight of the jig head is actually further forward past the hook eye. So what it's gonna do is it's gonna create a nose-heavy jig. It will help the you know the hook to stand up, but it will also you know hit the ground and it will cause it to you know wanna wanna rotate. And I I found that since now when I when I first started making jigs, I was a spro guy. That's all I used before I really started you know getting into it. And what I would what I found switching to the ball head, it it keeps the the the the it's much cleaner, doesn't pick up a lot of seaweed, it doesn't pick up a lot of trash, it's it's easier to shed you know that stuff on the bottom, kind of swims through it a little bit better than versus that you know weight forward of the of the uh minnow head.

Ball Heads vs Minnow Heads Offshore

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 11:25

Right. And I you know, I I'll say I use Spro. I actually for most of my life used a a custom bucktail that was made out of God, I can't even remember the name, tackle shop in Cape May, Jim's Jim's bait and tackle. There were some custom ones down there, and I'm talking over 40 years, you know, growing up, that's what we got. And then I was tying my own for a while, but I wasn't I wasn't making the jigs, right? I was just using old bucktails that I got from Jim's, and they get beaten up because I used to go for bluefish mostly and uh turn around and and I would just tie them myself to just put them in the fly tying vice and and start tying them up. So I've I've done a lot of experimenting with that. But Spro, then I went to Spro because then I got lazy and I said I'm not gonna do this anymore. So I just went out and you know start making a little bit of money after you're out of college, and now I'm now I'm buying tackle and I'm buying Spro. Actually, Spro came after that, but there were a couple other brands in there as well. I think it's a decent, it's a decent jig, but it's not I don't I I I use it as a backup, right? It's it's my emergency one if I'm out of everything else or if I'm losing everything. So, for example, uh just so people know, full disclosure, yesterday I was out fishing. I picked up on Friday a whole bunch of new jigs here from Ed, and I lost four. So I I threw a spro on, I threw a spro on and lost that. It was a bad day for me, and I would just say I was being followed by a seal. It is way too early in September to be followed by seals. That's usually a midwinter thing, but yeah, they're following me on the kayak. Uh it was brutal, but yeah, so I use a that's when I use a spro, or if I'm on really heavy structure and I'm gonna lose something, I I don't want to necessarily lose all of my good jigs if I'm if I'm really testing the heavy structure, like a wreck, right? You know, I was gonna do a tournament last weekend, it was canceled, and we were gonna be hitting some wrecks, and I have a whole bunch of cheap jigs for on the wreck, and then to switch out to the better jigs alongside the wreck. So I'm not necessarily on that structure, but I use the deep the uh the minnows. The minnow heads are really good for for wreck fishing, I think, because it's a more vertical presentation when you're vertical jigging. The key is you just have to keep a lot of weight on there so that you don't have any scope in that on that structure, so you can pull it straight up, straight down as you're going over it. But yeah, so you know, one thing about the angles that I think people should keep in mind is, and this is a difference between southern fishing. I'm talking southern, you know, southeast United States, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, versus mid-Atlantic to northern, you know, for flounders specifically, they're casting to get their flounder there. They're not vertical jigging like we are, because they're typically catching these things in less than six feet of water, often in in a foot of water. So they're actually tossing out and they're using the skimmer heads. In that case, I think it's important for people to understand you should look for something that has that hook further forward, right? You want that angle so it pulls it straighter through the water. If you use a spro minnow head as an example, because that's what people are gonna be familiar with, and you're casting that, it is not gonna retrieve as well. You don't want to necessarily troll with that either. Now, some of them you'll see will actually have two eyes on it, right? So you have the one up here and then you have one up front. If you're gonna be casting it out and retrieving it, use the one out front so it pulls it flatter in the water across. If you're gonna be shaking it, then you use this one right here, and that'll be pulling it this way so it gives you this more action in this direction. And I think people don't realize that. And quite often I've seen people on the beach that are just using the vertical, the vertical eye, you know, it doesn't make as much sense. But it's something that I I don't think a lot of people know, you know. So if you're gonna be casting it out, look for that skimmer type of skimmer type of head. If you're going really shallow, look for that that offset eye hook up further towards the front, so you have the the the weight behind it, so you're pulling it a little more steady, look for like a bullet head, something like that. You you'll get a much better better presentation on that. Would would you agree with that or do you have different thoughts on it?

Ed Gobbo 15:40

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, not for nothing, the hook in the water is better than not. But when you can, you know, it we have you know, everything's available to put you on the best tackle possible for the situation. So it's definitely worth it to do a little bit of research and and figure out the type of fishing you're gonna be doing and and match your gear to you know what what you're gonna be doing, right?

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 16:04

Right. Uh and it's funny, Don Don Mace in the chat just jumped in. Hey Don. Uh Don was actually who I was gonna go out on the tournament with, so he was gonna see all the all those cheap spurs that I was bringing. And actually had just so people know, Ed made a whole bunch of three-ounce bucktails for for Don and I to test out over the weekend as well. Just just didn't happen, not great weather for offshore, definitely. But yeah, we'll be out in the 90 foot next year. Yeah, so let's go into so a big thing about bucktails, man, we could talk about presentation, and I was kind of thinking let's kind of roll into that, but let's really talk about the construction first, right? So there's different, you know, you can make bucktails a million different ways, right? Um, you know, a lot of people, and it depends, you know, in my opinion, on the species, right? So to me, the regular generic, like I keep holding these up. These are the these are Captain Hanks right here, these are flounder bucktails. They they are not the same as what, and I don't know if people pick up on why, but they're not the same as what you're getting for Spro, and they are not the same bucktails that I would use if I'm fishing for striped bass, you know, starting here in a couple of weeks. And there are some reasons for that. So are there are there any things that you look to do with the different particular bucktails when you're making them for, you know, the customers that really don't ask for anything custom, they just say, Hey, I'm fishing for this species, you know, I need it, I need some bucktails.

Ed Gobbo 17:34

I mean, typically the average, most of my guys that are that are buying from us are fluke guys. I do have some guys, some striper guys and stuff like that. But the average bucktail, I will tie I can show you this one. This one's a pretty good example. You want to tie it, you want to have fur, you know, all the way around evenly. And you know, when this stuff gets wet, it's gonna streamline down and it's it's gonna mimic a bait fish. You know, that's why you know the bucktail is you don't even you can throw a bucktail with nothing on it and still catch a fish because it emulates, you know, bait fish. So the the average bucktails is gonna be tied with fur all the way around evenly. And that way, guys, you know, I've seen guys with scissors out on the jetties trimming them up, cutting hair off. You can play with the sink rate, you can do you know, you can change the action of the bait. There's a lot you can do with a bucktail. You know, they're they're they're very universal, they're very universal and and what's the word? Yeah, just just universal. They're they're they'll catch anything. There's there's not much in the in the bay that'll that won't hit on a bucktail.

Sparse vs Full Hair For Fluke

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 18:43

Yeah, it it's funny. If you go down, everybody has their confidence lure, right? But what's interesting is there are two lures that really haven't changed much over time. There's the spoon, and then there's the bucktail. And you could you could essentially say the same list, maybe the spoon might have caught more, but I I mean I can tell you personally, I have used as a primary as a as a primary lure for flounder, for weak fish, bluefish, striped bass, tuna, mahi mahi, spanish mackerel, false albacore. I mean, we could did I say tuna, sharks? Sharks, when you see sharks on the top, you throw a bucktail at them. They will absolutely make o sharks. I've caught several many. I won't even say several, many dozens of Mako sharks. Now, this was years ago, back in the 80s, but it was all on bucktails.

Ed Gobbo 19:39

And I mean, to touch on that when I started tying the bucktails and learning about them, there's a company that that really made them put them on the map was this Upper Men's Company. And they were actually in Atlantic City, which is you know 15 minutes from here. They were so the bucktails were so efficient that the US Navy has them in their survival kits. They started in World War II and they still have them to this day. You know, for guys that get stranded or whatever, they have a way to catch something.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 20:10

Yeah, I mean it, I mean, it's proven. And anybody who's fished multiple species, if you have to go with just one lure, I would always bring the bucktail. I mean, it's huge in Australia. It's huge here. I mean, it's huge all over the world. I think it's some of the best places to go fishing, and the bucktail is there. Now, when you talk about the construction, you know, the the I guess the thing that really makes it a bucktail is you're using bucktail on there. You know, you have the silicone skirts, they're not actually bucktails, they they mimic them somewhat, but they don't have the same action, right? The those large silicone skirts, they have good action, but they don't have the same action. So your base, your basic one is you're going even all the way around it, right? That's your general all-around, all-purpose bucktail, then.

Ed Gobbo 20:53

Yep. Yeah, and all purpose is going to be hair tied all the way around. You know, you want to keep it even so the action, it doesn't, you know, tend to favor one side or the other. Or, you know, you as an angler will put that action into it, and it's not, it won't do it on its own.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 21:08

Right. You know, and then there are a couple things to consider. Let's see. It's actually Eric Cohen Cohen is asking thoughts on effectiveness, area timing for a jig head with hair, meaning the bucktail plus gulp versus a plain jig head with just the gulp. Why, when, and where would you use one over the other for fluke? And that that's an interesting question. It kind of goes to what I was saying about the different types of bucktails. And and you know the all-around bucktail that you're talking about with the even bucktail on there. Now, you know this because we've talked at length about it. I don't I don't like that for fluke at all. I think it's too much. You think of the construction of their mouth. I spent years just buying sprows and buying other things and then cutting them myself, like you said, that you see people on the beach doing all the time to shape it to the way that they like it. So look at this one, it's very sparse. It is not even look, see how his flared out. You want to hold your your standard one up there. Look at that.

Ed Gobbo 22:09

This one now, mind you, this one is well used. This was this has seen many, a many a fish, so it's still it's a little ratty, but it's a little ratty, but this one's brand new.

Braid, Leaders, And Bottom Contact

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 22:18

This one actually hasn't hit the water yet. But you can see how how sparse it is from the bottom and the top, so it's thinner, it has a thinner profile, which which, in my opinion, and in my experience, fits the mouth of the fluke better, right? They don't have all that hair to go through. They don't have you know, they have a smaller their mouth gets big when they're when it's wide open, but when it's closing, you want as much of this hook in that mouth as possible, and I don't want them snipping back here, right? I don't want them grabbing all that. I want this all compact in the water so it's really nice and streamlined, and I want them grabbing that hook and getting it in their mouth. So that's why I like these. Then we could talk a little bit in a little bit about you know, kind of what we're doing together here, but and then with a little bit of flash on the side just for a little bit of color, but to but to Eric's question, my thought is I would use the plain jig head with the gulp if I if I if the bucktail is too big, right? It just it to me it makes it easier for them to grab. Now, when I would use more bulk, two things. If I'm not using a gulp, because people do fish bucktails without anything, they just put procure on it or you know, a squid strip. In that case, you know, I would use a bucktail with feathers to give it a little bit more volume to make it look a little bit more like a bait fish. But if it if the water is murky, you want it to move the water, right? You need the vibrations out there so it hits the lateral line so that they can sense that it's there if they even if they can't see it. So that's when I'm using like the bigger bucktails, if it's a little bit of murky water. Now, mid-Atlantic and north is pretty much all murky, right? Or it's at least dirty, you know.

Ed Gobbo 24:02

Although last year we had a couple, a couple really nice days where it looked kind of Caribbean out there.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 24:06

Yeah, we we've had we have had a few of those. Generally speaking, though, you know, especially when you compare it to Florida and North Carolina, which is a lot cleaner, it's a lot clearer. You know, I was down in North Carolina and I'm seeing eight feet down, I'm literally seeing the bottom. You don't you don't get that up in New Jersey as an example, New York. It's typically you got about a foot and a half to two feet, is pretty good, right? So you want to get so you want something that's going to move the water, send the vibrations out, which is why the paddle tails, the paddle tail gulps work really well if you're using gulp baits, you know, the the jerk shads because they get a little bit of vibration going out there. The grub tails really get some some vibrations out there. That's my answer, though. I don't know if you agree with that, but that's when I would do it. The dirtier the water, the bulkier I'm going. But generally speaking, I want to stay sparse, which is why I like those bucktails that you tied up for me. There's some volume there, but there's not too much. And that to me is the general all-purpose type of bucktail to use for the standard conditions in New Jersey and New York.

Ed Gobbo 25:13

I can agree to that. The only other reason I would consider going to a plain jig head and gulp is wreck fishing, like out in the ocean. You know, you don't you don't want to be losing them bucktails six, seven, eight dollars a piece, depending on how big they are. You know, where you can get a pack of jig heads, they're a little bit cheaper, they're still gonna work, maybe not as effective, but usually once you when you find them on a wreck, it's game one no matter what you throw at them. So, but back bay, I I very rarely carry anything other than bucktail. You know, I tried doing the Skinner method for a couple years with the teaser on top, with a you know, plain jig head. I it didn't work for me. I don't I don't know. Maybe I just I can't figure out how to jig a rod right now. But it just never did. Bucktails always produce, always. So that's yeah, they do.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 26:03

And I think I think it's funny. I give I give Skinner a lot of credit because he has you know the Skinner rig, also known as the rig that we all use growing up our entire lives, that our grandparents were using before he was born. But he has made it his own, and I I tip my hat to him. Absolutely, you know, bucktails for flounder is not something that came along with John Skinner. I remember you know in the 70s fishing with bucktails for fluke, they were a little different than the ones that we use now, but yeah, the Skinner method, I I I think it's great. I have trouble with especially the rapid jigging. I don't have the Popeye forearms, I actually I have tennis elbow over here, and I have carpal tunnel over here. So my thumb and fore my pointer finger, I can't feel. So no, there's repetitive things. I'm more of a you know, just keep it moving type of guy.

Ed Gobbo 26:55

Yeah, I try to keep it methodical. I try to I try to feel the bottom. I don't I don't want to like reel it up a foot off the bottom and just you know bounce the rod. I want to know you know the the contours and you know get that that you want that bait as close to them as possible. I mean, everybody's seen the underwater footage, you know, they'll they'll come up, they'll chase up, but they they're they live on the bottom, uh especially when conditions are tough because I don't I'm sure you've caught flounder that have their bellies are covered in mud, you know, they're laying down there and they're not they're not up in the in the water column at all. They're they're right smack on the bottom.

Bucktail Hair vs Silicone Skirts

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 27:27

They are, they are as a matter of fact, and you can catch them top water, but it's gotta be really shallow, and they will they will chase all the way up to the top. Um listen, I'm holding you to a top water trip. All right, so so yeah, I was I talked about this on a on a a podcast earlier this year, and and we were talking about it, and it's really the it's the flats next to a pretty decent drop off in the spring when the water's still pretty cold, but you get a nice sunny day and you got a mud flat, they will move right up onto that mud flat and sit on the top there, kind of sunning themselves. And when you pull those things out, they are covered in mud. I mean, it's just stuck to them, you know. And what's funny is it it won't even come off if you grab them. The mud is that stuck into their slime that it just stays there. That's crazy.

Ed Gobbo 28:12

Yeah, I heard you on the Tide Chasers podcast talking about that. That that got me. That got that that piqued my interest. Um I'm definitely wanting to get the kayak out and try it.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 28:20

Yeah, if you have a fly rod and a very small popper, I'm talking small, like a two-inch popper. It'll it'll work, but it's not something I do for a full day. It was you know, I was actually practicing when I learned that you could do it. I was practicing casting a fly rod. We've got another question in in the chat. John Hutchinson hooks, what size should be used? Is smaller better than large hook and the length of the shank? We both have opinions on this. I actually don't know yours though, so let's hear yours first and then I'll jump in with my thought on it.

Ed Gobbo 28:50

One second.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 28:50

Yeah, go ahead, man. A lot of thoughts.

Ed Gobbo 28:54

So hooks, hooks, they're you gotta use quality hooks. I've I've had hooks that you know, I've I've straightened the shanks on the old Duratin, the silver old Mustad hooks that have been around 100 years. You'll straighten one of them out on a decent fish, no problem. The stuff that we're using with our jigs, we're using the Mustad black nickel hooks, they're a forged hook, they're a lot stronger. I mean, I'll snap line before I I break a hook. And that's what that's what I would rather, you know, I'd rather that be what happens than than a jig failure because having a jig fail, nor one makes me, you know, me and the company look bad, and it's it creates an angry angler, you know. As far as size and length, I try to use the biggest hook we can fit in the molds. So, you know, certain molds will recommend using a five odd or a six odd, and I'll try to step it up. There's molds that that we have that I've actually modified with a little angle grinder to get in there and and fit a bigger hook, you know, just to use it's it's it's called a don jig. It's designed for for the bigger sluggos and the zoom flukes to three-eighths head, but it has a seven-odd hook, so it's it's a monster. You know, I I prefer a longer shank. This one here is on a five, I believe it's on a five-odd hook. Well, if I held it up high enough. So you can kind of see where the jig head stops. I should have brought some bare jigs, but you can see where the where the uh bait keeper is. So you have a decent amount of hook protruding, and then you also kind of want to match your bait size to your hook as well. You know, if you go with you know, you put a big giant, you know, seven six-inch gulp on here, you're gonna have a lot of tail, you know, they're gonna be chomping at the tail before they get the hook. You know, I think Rich, you have some with the bigger hooks. You have the the ones with the seven aughts. Yeah, you know, and they get you're gonna get hook point contact before you get you know more contact with the fur and stuff like that.

Presentation, Flash, And Glow Paint

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 30:54

So yeah, and that that's why I like them. I'll I'm gonna scroll some pictures of you and and some of your products and everything so people can see it as we continue to go through here. I I personally like the now. This is my personal preference. And again, I remember I made my own, you know, uh well over a decade ago, I was making my own and and testing them out, and I found that I really do like the longer shank. I tend to use bigger baits. I'm not I'm not necessarily looking for the biggest fish possible, but I am looking for the bigger ones. I I would much rather catch no fish than hundred. Well, no, not no fish. I would much rather catch one big fish and trade off 15 shorts and not catch those, right? So to me, that's that's a that's a good day. And I believe that the the longer shank allows two things with fluke specifically. I think it works really well with the shape of their mouth because fluke do come up and they short strike a lot. They'll don't see where that fluke is right there. That's actually how it'll grab, it'll grab that hook, it'll grab that bait, it'll kind of grab onto the end and kind of mouth it, right? And that's why with an artificial, you set it the second you feel it because it's got it in its mouth, and you got to try to set it right away because it'll spit an artificial. And I feel like the longer shank gives it a better opportunity to actually engulf the hook at the same time that it mounts it the first time. So that's what I'm typically gonna do. I'm gonna look for the bigger, not necessarily the bigger hook, but the longer shank. But but to your point, you know, they're they're quote unquote just flounder, but you you need to make sure you have a strong hook on those, right? You it has to be a strong hook. So, you know, I I love the hooks that you use, the mustad, the forged hooks, they're they're they're great. But that's my thought on it. You know, I I just I personally just prefer the longer shank. I think it it fits better, it gets into that mouth a little bit easier because you know they don't have to take as much of the bait in order to get the the hook pointed into the into their jaw as they would with those short shanks, which you see on you know, I'm not gonna name the names of all these companies, but there are some that that's really all they have are these really short jigs, these really short shanks, and to me, they're worthless.

Ed Gobbo 33:14

On that picture you have on the screen now, that's the that to the right, those are those giant ones that I was talking about with that really big seven-off hook.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 33:23

Let me go back here.

Ed Gobbo 33:25

Yeah, on the this one right here, yeah. Right there on the right hand side. That's a three-eighth head, and I mean you can see how how big that hook is. You know, they're they're gonna grab that hook before they they get anything.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 33:39

Yeah, yeah. So I hopefully that that answers the question. See other questions. John, I fished with John before, great guy. I he's caught him on a teaser in the single bucktail. Andrew doesn't have as much luck with the uh the skinner method, always the teaser. How about braid versus mono and the impact mono has on keeping in touch with the bottom? Which again, for fluke fishing specifically, it's that's the key. You got to keep in touch with the bottom. What's your thought on that?

Matching Gulp Colors And Profiles

Ed Gobbo 34:10

So I use a fluoro leader. Everything I I'll tie a you know, an Albright, and I'll use probably, I mean, if the length doesn't really matter, I'll use probably 18 to 20 inches of of fluoro. My rods are spooled with 25 pound PowerPro. I'm gonna go a little on the heavier side just in case I run into you know, you know, whatever towed you around the bay the other day. I want to be able to do that. So I always I definitely want to have, you know, I want to have the muscle to fight them. So I'm I'm using Fluoro. I don't I don't think that really affects your ability to keep you know hold bottom. You know, you're depending on the rod, you know, the rod has a lot to do with it too. You want a rod with a sensitive tip, you know, you'll so you feel it all the way through the blank. I've been using, I just started using jigging world rods, and so far I'm in love with them. They're very sensitive. You feel a lot. Um I was using a Fenwick rod before, the HMG insure, which is an all-around awesome rod, and I'll never get rid of them. But I think a rod, I think the rod has a lot more to do with your feeling the bottom than than your line and your leader combo.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 35:17

Yeah, I I personally I have switched over to I I use braid on everything. One thing that I do do, which is kind of why maybe some people have seen in some of my videos, it happened again yesterday. Is I will break off sometimes because I use the lightest braid I can. It's typically 10 or 15 pound braid, it cuts the water, it's very thin compared to mono, and and I feel like it it helps the the lead get down quicker. And then I actually use a 10 to I for 90% of it is a 20-pound mono liter, and I'll use anywhere from depends on if I'm gonna put a teaser on there with that that dropper loop or not, but I'll use two to three feet of it, mainly because I tie it on with an FG knot, and when I'm out in a kayak, it's a pain in the neck to tie an FG knot because I steer with my left hand and I don't want to just sit there and drift and tie a knot. I I tie when I'm moving to another spot to save time. But hey, the channel's all about you know, more fish and less time, right? So I don't waste a second when I'm out there.

Ed Gobbo 36:24

Listen, I'm guilty of breaking off and tying directly to Braid. I'm uh I have no shame.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 36:29

So so I did that actually a couple weeks ago. I I another video I had up was I went down to the Chesapeake with my buddy Randy, and we just wanted to see what was out there, and and I didn't retie. And I had about a liter about this long, and I was like, ah, screw it. So I just put uh I just put a uh jig head on there and a paddle tail, and we were trolling. I picked up a Spanish mackerel on that. Thank God it didn't bite any. It actually I hooked it and it came out and ended up hooking it in the head, which I think saved me because you know it stayed away from the teeth. But uh yeah, that I actually have a video of that pulling in a Spanish mackerel with zero liter on it, just straight to braid on 15-pound braid.

Ed Gobbo 37:14

If it's stupid and it works, is it stupid?

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 37:17

Exactly. For me, it just saved me time. I didn't have to tie up and and and head out. But yeah, so I think you know the the biggest thing for me is you definitely get more sensitivity out of a braid for your main line. You can definitely feel a little bit more in there, but once you introduce that fluoro and that mono leader, you're gonna lose a little bit of that. But I I use the braid to get it down to the bottom. I I think it helps to hold it a little bit better than mono. So that's that's just my personal opinion. With that said, you know, I've caught thousands of fish on mono main line and fluoro leaders. I've even caught a lot of flounder on wire leaders when I was really young. I would just take whatever was pre-tied and I just grab wire leaders, so it can all still work.

Ed Gobbo 38:02

Absolutely.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 38:04

Yeah, so Andrew is also asking, what's the difference between the hair and the silicone, and when would you use them?

Ed Gobbo 38:11

I think the hair and silicone is gonna be more of a personal preference type thing. You know, I prefer I'm a bucktail guy through and through. We do have we do offer silicone skirts for things. I don't I haven't really fished with them too often. I should probably give it a better shot, but I'm I'm just stuck on the bucktails. You know, it's you're gonna get action no matter what, but I feel like the bucktail and the way it's tied versus the way a skirt's tied, it moves more water and it creates more, like you were saying, it creates more sensation on that lateral line, and it gets you know it's it it emulates a a real bait fish, whereas kind of the the silicone's just a little all over the place and kind of a little like a it doesn't it doesn't have as much density as a bucktail.

Hook Size, Shank Length, And Strength

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 38:56

Yeah, I would agree. I know I say this is somebody who has used silicone extensively. Last season, I not this one that just ended yesterday, but the last year in 2020, I used it almost exclusively and I had a great year. Out of the two, I prefer the bucktail in in nearly every situation. And quite frankly, the only time given a choice between the two that I would use the silicone is when there are more toothy critters in the area. So if I'm going through bluefish, or if or if there are yeah, it's really bluefish, you know. If there's a lot of bluefish in the area, I will definitely use the silicone because I think it holds up a little bit better. You're more likely to not have it get caught in the teeth and and twisted out of the bucktail. So it doesn't, it doesn't ruin it, right? So that's more of a a durability thing for me. But head to head, my personal preference has been, and I think will always be to have an actual real buck. Bucktail versus versus a silicone in the vast majority of things. Now, if you go offshore, I wouldn't necessarily say that's true, right? The bigger you get, the more silicone becomes to me a viable option, right? So if you're if you're out there for tuna and you're going to use a big bucktail, you know, you're talking like a four-ounce that you're really just hauling out there on a huge spinning gear. I I would actually go with it with the silicone there. I think it holds up really well and it works really well for getting the bait on the hook. One bad thing about bucktails versus silicone is if you ever try to take a gulp off or a soft plastic with the bucktail, you have to know how to take it off, otherwise, you're going to rip the fur right out.

Ed Gobbo 40:45

Yeah, the fur gets caught up under the hook barb. And then when you take the gulp, it takes it off.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 40:50

Yeah, so this is a little pro tip for everyone. So when you have a gulp on there or a soft plastic coming off of here, make sure before you take it off, just grab it all and just pull it out of the way. So you're pulling it off on a bare hook. Otherwise, it'll start to pull all the hair off, and you're gonna end up losing a whole bunch of the top of the top of the jig. So imagine doing that when you when you've got a big, you know, nine-inch plastic on something offshore that you're you're trolling or or you're tossing out at Mahi or tuna or something like that. You gotta or sharks, you know. Sharks, you you'll sometimes throw a bucktail with a big half mackerel or a big mackerel on it. You definitely I would use silicon for that. So hopefully that that helps, Andrew. Those are that's my opinion on it. Yeah, so so let's go into a little bit about presentation. What what are some of the things that you think about when you're making a jig with the presentation and and that you consider before tying it up?

Ed Gobbo 41:58

I mean, it really depends on what what the order is, what the customer's you know looking for. You know, most people give me you know a little heads up on what they're doing, and then we'll tie something, you know, to to whatever they whatever they want. You know, every every jig is different. There's no two that are the same, there's no two deer that are the same, you know, even sections of hair on one tail are different. So it's you know, it's it's one of those things that you have to you have to balance you know that the the hair that you're using, the hair that you're putting on, and the way you're putting it on and tying it, just to make sure that everything stays together. Because let's face it, it's hair, you know, we're we're cutting hair off a tail and and tying it on. So you want it you want it as strong as possible, you want it to stay together.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 42:46

Yeah, I I thought that was really interesting when we were we met up to the fishing a few weeks ago, and we went back to your shop and you were showing me the differences between you know, off the same tail, you were showing me the difference between the hair pulled from one section versus the other, and then you tied up the one the one jig right, you know, right there. And it was interesting. It was interesting to me. And I there you go, that's it. That's the that's the prototype there. Yeah, yeah, that's the prototype that we're gonna talk about in in a couple of minutes. You know, what what what's your thought on using things like the flashaboo, the tinsel, you know, hackles, that type of thing?

Ed Gobbo 43:25

It's it's all dependent again on what you're doing. So, like, you know, my go-to this year was this this guy I already showed there's no flash in there at all. Dirty water conditions, you might want to add some flash that way. It it reflects a little bit of light and grabs the attention better. You know, a lot of lures are gonna catch more anglers than fish, right? Unfortunately, that's just a reality of of our you know, of our our hobby here. Capitalism. Yeah, you gotta do it. Um so it all depends. It really depends on what the customer wants and what they're what they're comfortable with using and their style. You know, you said when you want when you ordered those jigs that you have, you wanted some flash. So I I threw some in there. But you know, like this one, this is a new color. I'm I'm playing with, well, I'll be playing with for next year, but there's no flash in here. I I don't I don't prefer flash. Again, it's all it's all dependent. That's that's what I like about doing this is you can make them to what people want instead of just settling for something off the shelf that you know anybody can have. Right.

Tog Jigs, Dirty Diaper, And Losses

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 44:29

Or you can I I think it's interesting, you know, when you look at the colors and everything. I one one thing that I've that I think has been beneficial. Well, two things when you talk about color, the the use of glow, glow paints, I think have helped. There have been days I can tell you this, you know, this year I was out fishing with a guy, I didn't have any glow bucktail heads or jig heads. He did, and I caught nothing. It was the I think one of and I got skunked twice this year, and that was one of them. He didn't, he was catching them. I I didn't. The other thing is is interesting to me, and I'm gonna put this back up real quick matching the colors to the gulp. So here's New Penny. New penny to me is one of the most underrated colors that you can get of gulp. And and I love the fact that that you know you have the jig heads that are gonna match that, so it's it's more of a seamless type of presentation than you know what we'd normally do, which let's say right here, I've got the pink and the white, and then I'm gonna throw new penny on there. Well, I'm just introducing all these crazy colors to it. I'm gonna throw chartreuse on there. Well, maybe I should do this with chartreuse, you know, with a little bit of the green in there. So, you know, I I think that's interesting. So, are are you looking at matching more of the colors of the gulp as you go forward?

Ed Gobbo 45:56

Yeah, uh, we do have. If you check out the Instagram, there is there should be photos of we have the full line, like we can do match pretty much every gulp color blue fuse, the red, nuclear chicken, new penny, the salmon red. Um yeah, the the salmon. There's there's just so many colors, like but we we have them all. We can we can match, you know, whatever whatever you're looking to do. We can we can put some together.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 46:23

Yeah, I I think it's it's something worth doing and worth trying out, and and we'll have some more conversations about that. Hey, if anything, you're gonna look cool. So, yeah, exactly. Hey, sometimes sometimes you gotta buy the cool thing, right? Like nobody needs a $400 reel for you know kayak fishing as an example, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't get one if you can afford it. You gotta look good out there too, right?

Ed Gobbo 46:45

Yeah, absolutely. Looking good is half the part.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 46:48

Yeah, yeah, you got all the people fishing off of a off of a a pier using their van stalls, you know, and their the thousand dollar rods.

Ed Gobbo 46:59

I had something lost one. He lost one over the side. A bird like flew in his line and pulled the whole the whole shebang right over. $1400 setup gone.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 47:08

That's no good.

Ed Gobbo 47:09

That's that's not the first time it happened to him either. I felt so bad.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 47:13

Yeah, you gotta feel bad. I mean, that's that's just uh that's just disappointing. I've I've lost some gear, but you know, as people have seen in my other videos, I tend because I kayak fish, I tend to go on the cheap side. So I I get the decent rod and the budget reels, and they they seem to work out pretty well. And I have you know, I have a few rigs on the bottom of the Raritan Bay right now. They're about a they're about what six months old now. So maybe somebody can uh can pull one out. Nice and muddy, nice and muddy, and by this point, dead. Totally dead. Let me let me ask you, like personally, how how do you choose the colors that you're gonna use when you're when you're packing up your tackle box to head out? Because you you have, unlike all of us, you have everything just sitting in your shop. So I mean you pretty much have the world open to you for jigs and bucktails. So how do you choose?

Ed Gobbo 48:04

Uh well, it's funny because uh our last fishing trip, I took one bucktail with me. If you go through my tackle box, it's pretty sparse.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 48:12

I was pretty disappointed when you said that too, by the way.

Ed Gobbo 48:15

Uh you know, as far as colors go, chartreuse has always been like my power color. Now, like I have guys that are will order they're they're all about the pink shine, so they'll do pink, you know, like the pink and white. That's their power color. So uh actually in the slideshow you were showing I there was one picture of a fluke with a minnow head and a blue and yellow somewhere in there, with the blue and yellow in its mouth, and that was the first one I ever tied of that color. And then I, yeah, there you go. That one that was the last fish of last year that we caught the end of end of the season. So going into this year, I'm like, there's something about this color I want to, I just want to explore it. So that's what I loaded my box with, and then like I started changing things up, like I started matching, I don't know if you can see, but the head is chartreuse with a with with a blue, you know, splashes in it, you know. And this was just my my my power color for this year. I decided that's what I was gonna use, and and it worked.

Custom Collab And Fluke-Specific Design

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 49:15

So, yeah, I think you know one thing people should keep in mind. So again, there's nothing wrong if you use Spro or use another brand, but there's something to me, it's a whole different thing when you can start experimenting and you can actually say, Hey, here's what I would like to have made, you know, like like what we have done, and you get that, and then you get to test your own theories, you get to put in the time to to figure out, you know, what if I change this, what if I change that, and then from that point on, you have your your personalized bucktails to go with. And and I love the fact that on your research trip, you first check on this new color, you you pulled in that that big guy there. That that's gotta feel good.

Ed Gobbo 49:59

Yeah, it was it was that was a good trip. But you know, and I have I have you know, my my my partner that I started the business with, we're we're still you know very good friends. There's stuff he tries, there's stuff there's a guy with the sheep's head that you have in the slideshow. That's Mike. He that's a nice sheep's head. He's he was fishing the prototype for the new hook and then caught that sheep's head, you know, on our togg jig. So it's definitely not just me behind this. You know, it's there's there's a there's a group of people, you know. The the Don jig is named after uh a buddy Don. He's like, Hey, can you do something like this? So we did it, you know. It's it's not so don't don't don't assume it's just me behind all this. There's there's input from a lot of people that you know that are very skilled fishermen. So I can't take full full credit with the source of stuff.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 50:46

Yeah, I mean you listen to your customers, you listen to the people that come and say, Hey, look, I have this idea, let's give it a shot. And then they do come back to you and tell you how it goes, right? Like people, people ask me, you know, can you help me find a spot in this area? And I tell them, as a matter of fact, I did it tonight with somebody he's heading down to North Carolina to an area that I fish. I said, The the I will send you everything that I can. The only thing you have to agree to is you need to tell me how you do, and they'll tell you, and then that's good feedback for me, too, right? So now I don't have to fish there, but I'm gonna look at it for for over the next two weeks. What areas would I look at based on the weather trends that are out there? And I'm gonna get that feedback, right? So similar to how you get the feedback from every angler that goes out with your gear. It's important, right? It's important because you can learn even if you're not the one on the water.

Ed Gobbo 51:33

Absolutely, yeah. And we we always ask for everybody to send us pictures. We try to post as much, you know, photos just to give guys shout outs for you know, even just supporting us. I mean, we're just a a shop in in a in my backyard, you know, you know, and to go up against the big guys and stuff. It's it's nice to get people involved in it because it's they they have a sense of ownership, you know. If they come up with something that they like and it works, you know, they you know, yeah, I was the the vehicle to get it to them, but it was their idea, you know. Right. So that's that's really cool.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 52:04

One more question is color more important than action? I I'm gonna throw in ahead of time and say no, but Ed really, I think they're asking you. So want to chime in on that one?

Ed Gobbo 52:14

I'm gonna throw a kicker in and I keep going back to the water clarity. You know, I think if clearer water, you know, maybe darker colors are gonna are going to produce clear, you know, it really depends. Clarity is number one, but number two, something I learned actually just this year, and it and then and it never really clicked in my head until someone actually said it. Now we we all subconsciously do it, but it it clicked. In salt water, everything is always moving, whether it's going with the tide, against the tide, moving around saltwater, bait, and and fish are always moving. Uh freshwater, you know, bass and and some of the other fish, they're they're just hanging out, they're they're watching what's going on, they're not searching for food. So I I think when it comes to color versus action, I'm definitely gonna go for action because they're like you said, saltwater fish are looking to eat, that's all they're looking to do.

Striper Bucktails And Bulk

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 53:10

Yeah, I I agree. And I think it's because what I have seen is that you know think about artificials. You can throw out a pink shine artificial, and if it's not moving, you're probably not going to get the bite. But the second you put the action behind that, you are gonna get the bites. You can throw out a pink shine, and I've done that, I do actually do this a lot. If I if I am fishing a teaser or top and bottom, I'll put on the bottom a grub usually, and then I'll put shrimp up top. So let's say I'm I'm throwing new penny grub and a new penny shrimp up top. The the the grub has the action, and I and I find that I'm getting more on the grub. So I I think you'll see it even if you have the same colors on. Generally, the better action is going to outfish it. That's just my opinion. I can't prove it, but but I like your thoughts on that as well. You know, everything's moving, they're they're used to seeing things moving, and it needs to be something that's going to catch their attention. Maybe color can, but man, if you have the right action, you can get that reaction strike too, which is especially with these ambush predators like a like a flounder, you can absolutely get it. So I'm gonna I'm gonna vote also for for action. So let's go into to uh the tog jig. Oh, actually, here's a question. So it's at the very beginning, and just being reminded in the chat here, talk about the tog jigs. You also do the tog jigs, but the the question was how how does the dirty diaper color work?

Ed Gobbo 54:42

Well, the fun the fun the funny part about that is the dirty diaper works very well, yeah. Okay, again, a joke. You know, we try to keep stuff fun. And actually, the guy that's asking about that is is Justin. He's he's the one that started the business with me. Just trying to be a wise guy, but uh again in your slideshow, there's a tog. She uh it came in at six pounds, and that was the test on the dirty diaper. We had gone offshore to the Rex and AC, and that one I mean, I was able to make contact with that one, and that was the first the first fish caught on the dirty diaper.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 55:14

So neither of us had a picture of it. It's an interesting color. It's um I didn't I don't have any with it. It's the white, what is it, white with some gold fleck in there?

Ed Gobbo 55:23

It's white with a green, uh really dark, like olive, almost like a for lack of a better term, it looks like a dirty diaper. And it has some red fleck in it, too. So I don't know. It's just one of those those off-the-wall ideas that you know, we threw something at the wall and it and it stuck. You know, that's one of the many things that we're playing with. Color colors for tog jigs, I I think are or where it's at.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 55:51

Yeah, I would well, I gotta say this. We went out and first drop on the tog jig that you gave me, and I ended up pulling up a keeper. First drop of the year for me. First keeper size, threw it back, but it was the first keeper size, and I and I do have to admit, you you were kind enough to give me a bunch after that. I lost them all yesterday. You lost them too? Lost them too. Oh man. I was trying, I was trying, I caught a lot of tog, they were all shorts, but yeah, you know, and the worst thing was the one that was really working for me. I don't even know what the colors called it was like a black with some maybe it was like a silver color in there as well, if I remember correctly.

Ed Gobbo 56:30

But I was getting hits on it. That's the dirty diaper there.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 56:34

Okay, I was getting hits on that every drop. And wouldn't you know there was a rope about three feet underwater, and it got it got hooked into the rope. So I couldn't, there was no way, you know, in a kayak, I couldn't reach down, I couldn't do anything, you know. In that current right next to a bridge, it was a little dangerous. So I had to, you know, give it the salute, say thank you, and cut the line as close as I could, but I ended up losing that. Yeah, disappointing.

Ed Gobbo 57:01

Well, the the best part is they make more every day. So we we can we can we can say yep.

DIY Tying, Quality, And Reliability

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 57:06

Yeah, we'll be talking about it. All right, so so I wanted to say one more thing. You know, going back to some of the things that we were talking about, the the fluke jigs that that I've been showing, you know, with the thinner profile from the bottom and the top, and the you know, you have the bulk on the side, we've kind of teamed up on these, and be making these available to everybody. These again are the the design that that I've used over the years when I was tying myself. These are much better, these are much better than what I could tie, to be completely honest. And most of what I did was actually just buying some and then just cutting it, cutting it down. So, yeah, I mean flounder season is over as of yesterday in New Jersey. Now, Delaware, it's open all year. I don't know what Maryland is, Virginia, I don't know when New York ends. I think New York closed as well, not 100%. But yeah, we're gonna be uh working together on on getting some of those out there for people to use next season.

Ed Gobbo 58:08

Yeah, absolutely. I'm I'm looking forward to it. We just got to figure out you know, distribution and stuff like that, but we'll uh we'll get it together, and I think it's gonna definitely up a lot of a lot of games for some people and you know get them on something quality that you know is gonna last them multiple fish, other you know, other than don't get snagged and don't lose them. But once if they stay on, they're gonna they're gonna last a while.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 58:30

So uh it's but I I did look another shark yesterday with them. So frustrating. I mean it what it ripped off. I what I did is I had actually a mullet on on the bucktail, and I was jigging it, and I put it down in the rod holder for a second, and it just took off. And I took it out of the rod holder, and it was obviously a shark, and it just it bit it's clean slice right through the the jig didn't fail, but the the leader failed. So that was actually my first jig that I lost yesterday, and it was downhill from there. So guys, we're we're gonna work together to make some of these, you know. If you're interested in using the same ones that I'm using in the bucktail, Captain Hanks is gonna be is gonna be producing these, and they're gonna be made available to everybody. I can tell you, because of the way that it's shaped, because of the types of hooks that that Ed uses, man, the the these are these are exactly what you want for fluke, especially the inshore. You know, this is the one of the smaller ones. It's just it's it's the right hook, it's the right angle, it's got the right bulk, it's got the right profile from underneath, it's thinner, like a minnow that's swimming by, or you know, anything that would be swimming over top of it, and then it's got the thick profile from the side. If you've ever watched a flounder, it'll it'll go from side to side behind it. It'll look, it'll see it from the side. It first sees it from the bottom, then it sees it from the side, sees it from the side, and then it comes up from Underneath and grabs it over top. So these with the the ball jig and that profile work really well. Those will be made available. Coming up, we got plenty of time there to work out all the details on that. And actually, we won't talk about it now, but I've got another idea of something that I think will be incredibly successful that we need to do some testing on over the winter. So I I fish all year, so I'm happy to do the testing.

Ed Gobbo 1:00:28

Yeah, definitely. We'll uh we'll get together on that for sure.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 1:00:31

Yeah, so let's see, other things choosing bucktails for striped bass. Andrew, I'll just say real quick, I use the bulkier bucktails, right? So, you know, the the thick all the way around hackles on there for me personally. If you were gonna have somebody tie it for you, some feathers in there definitely help to really bulk it out. Stripers have huge mouths and they inhale, right? They're not just going up and biting, they're inhaling, they're inhaling all that water and they're sucking everything in. So you want something with some bulk, you want something that's gonna stand up to those bigger artificial baits that you put on there. I mean, some people are throwing nine-inch eels on those. So that that's what I would personally do. And I would use something if you're if you're not vertical jigging, something that has, unlike the picture up right now there with the minnow heads, I would have something with the eye hook a little bit further forward so that you get a little bit more of a straight retrieve when you're pulling it in.

Ed Gobbo 1:01:27

Yeah, and the only other thing I can add to that is you definitely want bulk because it also controls your sink rate, too. You know, like we were talking before about the the different parts of the hair, lower on the bucktail itself, that hair is actually hollow, so it'll flare more, it'll it'll put out more water. So you want something typically with those striper style jigs. I'll tie the lower hair, the hollow hair on the bottom, and then I'll go around again on top with regular hair to keep it to flare it out so it keeps that bulk.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 1:01:59

See, that's awesome. I I don't think spur is doing that. You think they are? Maybe they are? I don't know. My guess is probably not. My guess is they probably are. I don't know. Again, I do have Spro in my box. I do use it when I'm sure I'm gonna lose a lure and I or I'm just sick of losing lures. But yeah, don't want to bad mouth other things, but it's I I've talked to a lot of people and I've never had anyone show me the difference between the hair while making a jig in front of me and saying, This is why I'm using this, feel this one, showing me the you know the the differences between them. So definitely appreciated that when we were going through. So before we go, uh so did you have something you wanted to add?

Ed Gobbo 1:02:50

No, I mean it's bucktails are listen, if I can do it, anyone can do it. If you're interested in learning on your own, grab some jig heads, grab some deer hair and try it. You know, if you want something that it's gonna stand up and last, you know. It's it's it's it's a fun, it's fun, it's fun to do.

Where To Find Captain Hank’s

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 1:03:07

I enjoy it. So it is, but I will also caution people there is a difference. I I know how to do them, I know how to tie flies too. There is a difference between what I do and what you do. I mean, there it's not the same. You know, I on my Instagram I have a picture of a Spro bucktail. Take a look at that and then compare it to these, you know, comparing it to yours, there's a difference. One has paint after using it a couple times for a full season, and the other one is like the one on my Instagram, the Spro, it's just all lead at that point. So I mean you can do it, it can be fun, but you know, there's a difference. There's I can't give away all the secrets.

Ed Gobbo 1:03:47

I'm gonna encourage people to enjoy themselves and have fun, but I'm not gonna give away all the secrets.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 1:03:51

Come on, yeah, and I I just like I can make a rod, but I don't make rods anymore. Um, I don't make my own tackle anymore. I go to people that are better at it, who enjoy doing it and have a passion for it because that comes through in the end result, unlike mine, which are typically tied as quickly as possible, or the rods are put together as quickly as possible, just so I can get it out on the water the next weekend. So all right, so before we go, real quick, do you want to let everyone know where they can find you and Captain Hanks?

Ed Gobbo 1:04:19

Yeah, so we are on currently we're on Instagram and Facebook, and that's where the majority of our transactions are going on. We're working on a website, like like I said earlier, we we kind of started this COVID during COVID time, so we weren't, you know, we weren't coming out guns and blazing. We were just trying to be the you know the sneaky guy coming in. So now things are starting to get you know take off. So we're gonna do you know, website and and all that stuff down the road. But like I said, Facebook, Instagram is Captain Hags Tackle. Um, I have my my personal fishing page um is SJ Saltfish on Instagram. I post up a lot of a lot of catches and a lot of um you know jigs that I'm using and and what I'm using. And and you'll see in 90% of the photos is gonna be this guy here. Um you know it's it's fun, man. I I enjoy it. I love it.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 1:05:08

It's it's life. That's awesome. Well, so guys, then you know where to check them out. One real quick question Do you make any uh any ball jigs with the rattle?

Ed Gobbo 1:05:20

I do not produce them. Um the only ones I've really seen maybe work are for freshwater. And even in our local waters, most jigs, there's there's not they more imitate crawfish and stuff like that. I we don't have them here. So um as far as for saltwater, I don't I don't think the rattle is is gonna I think it's just fluff, to be honest.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 1:05:45

Yeah, I I've used it, I haven't noticed a difference, um, which doesn't mean that I wouldn't try it again. Um I haven't noticed a positive or negative in salt water. I also do not remember uh I don't remember the brand, to be honest with you. Um, but I I did try it. Um I didn't notice anything. Um but something to think about. Maybe it's something we could try out next year.

Ed Gobbo 1:06:09

Um I'm not against trying new stuff. Um I do think the rattle might be better suited for something topwater, just to make a little more noise on the surface. Yeah, but underwater, I I don't know that it's gonna really do too much.

Rich - Fat Dad Fishing 1:06:22

But there we know. Well, maybe we can try it when we go for topwater fluke next um or next spring. Yeah. I'm looking forward to that. Yeah, that'll be fun. All right, guys. Well, thank you everybody. Um, for those that are on the live stream, thanks for coming in. Thanks for the comments and everything. A like really helps uh the the video uh once it's posted after this for everyone to find. So uh any likes if you found any value would definitely be appreciated. Um, we're gonna have another live stream coming up in a couple of weeks. Uh the topic to be announced later. I'm working on getting a couple of people together for that. Um, so again, thanks everyone for stopping by. Ed, thank you very much. Really appreciate it. Everybody, catch you in the next one. Tight lines uh