But in fact there are substantial quantities of larger fluke, from 2 pounds on up to substantial 10- or 12-pounders. The problem is that many anglers keep using vintage techniques, rather than recognizing that the easiest way to avoid catching undersize fluke is to use a lure/rig/bait combo that's too big for the small fry. During the balance of last summer, I had the opportunity to fish many of the renowned fluke grounds off the Jersey coast, aboard both party and private boats. What I experienced firsthand was the need to scrap the old ways and target the heavyweights.

I found a consistent pattern among the more successful fluke fisherman, in that they put away the heavyweight tackle of an earlier era. Graphite rods measuring 7 to 8 feet in length, with medium-action tips to work both ball jigs and bucktail jigs, have become the norm. Small levelwind reels dominate, since you don't need a bulky, heavy reel when using braided line. Where braided line comes into play, its fine diameter offers less resistance in the water, which in turn lets you use lighter-weight lures such as ball and bucktail jigs, or a lightweight sinker if you're using natural baits.

Many fluke buffs will spool 40- or 50-pound-test braid. The heavier test has the diameter of only 12- or 15-pound-test mono, but its strength enables you to fish over the rough bottoms that are frequented by big fluke searching for a big meal. In fishing this type of bottom, you're apt to get hung up on mussel beds, rocks and bottom debris. And with the heavier- test braided line, you're able to pull free, rather than suffer losing one rig after another.

Chromed ball jigs and their airbrush painted counterparts have been around for many years, but only in the last few years have they really taken off in popularity. They're simple lures that actually replace having to employ a sinker. Most of these jigs are round in shape, although some variations on the market expand into a torpedo shape.

Each of these lures has an eye for attaching a length of 30- or 40-pound- test fluorocarbon material. An O'Shaughnessy-style hook with a bucktail skirt is attached to the ball's remaining eye. Some anglers will fish the ball jig as it comes from the package, while others add a strip bait of squid, mackerel or salmon belly to the hook. That's what Eric was doing, and he did extremely well with it.

Many anglers go a step further, adding a small, 2- to 4-inch piece of leader material to tie a stinger hook, usually a 4/0 or 5/0 O'Shaughnessy, to a beak- or claw-style hook of the same size. With the stinger hook, they can employ strip baits up to 8 to 10 inches long, placing the strip bait's head on the hook with the bucktail, and placing the trailing stinger hook in the middle of the strip.