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ThomCat Fluke Rigs

ThomCat Tackle
Capt. Thom “ThomCat” Pelletier
www.thomcatcharters.com
401.828.9424

By Captain Steven Travisono

In an Ocean State loaded with legions of striper-obsessed fishermen, Capt. Thom “ThomCat” Pelletier’s angling allegiance lies elsewhere. Ever since his first fluke-fishing trip at the age of 10, Capt. Thom has been focused on flatfish, and today he is considered one of the premier authorities on catching the biggest fluke from the littlest state.

“When I got really into fishing, the striper population was low, but there were fluke,” says Capt. Thom. “So when we wanted to catch fish, we went fluke fishing, and I liked the action.

“In the 1980s, I was fluke fishing so much that I was going through fluke rigs like Kleenex. So I started making my own rigs, just to save money, and kept tweaking them as I figured out what worked.”

Capt. Thom began making extra rigs to give to friends, and then, in 1997, he started selling them at Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) meetings. “People bought them, and they caught fish on them,” said Capt. Thom. “Word got out, there were some good reviews, and the rigs started selling themselves through word of mouth.”

The ThomCat Fluke Rig is now carried by a number of vendors in southeast New England, and still available for sale to members at monthly RISAA meetings. The rigs are still hand assembled by Capt. Thom himself, who uses only top-shelf components. While large-scale manufacturers may cut corners to reduce costs, the ThomCat Fluke Rig is built around quality tackle. The ThomCat Fluke Rig uses a VMC Perma-Steel wide-gap hook tied onto a Trilene Big Game 40-pound-test leader. The plastic squids are manufactured by B-2 Squids of Eureka, California and are the standard in the field. Spinnerblades are from the Worth Co. and are nickel-plated steel – there’s no uncoated steel, which can start to rust the moment it gets wet. Swivels are from Rosco, and never come from one of the “no-name” suppliers. With the exception of the VMC hooks, which are a product of France, all components are made in the U.S.A.

The rigs come in several different sizes and configurations. The “Original” versions consist of a 4/0 hook and a 3-inch plastic squid, and are available with two swivel choices. One is a 75-pound-test barrel swivel to facilitate the use of a fish-finder/slider-sinker application. The other, is a three-way swivel, which permits for the usage of a bucktail jig as a weight. This practice allows for a two-bait system. I prefer going with the bucktail, and I’ve found that 95 percent of the time, the jig gets the fish’s attention but the ThomCat gets the bite.

The 3-way system also allows for the use of a fixed sinker. With this application, Capt. Thom recommends a 6- to 8-inch dropper line tied to the third ring of the swivel. A large duo-lock snap is fixed to the other end to facilitate a quick sinker switch when necessary. This dropper permits the rig to ride a little off the bottom when fished behind a drifting boat. The result is a bait that is more visible and less apt to snag or gather debris.

The “Magnum” version contains a 5/0 hook and a 3-inch squid with a little more beadwork and dual spinner blades. This model offers a larger silhouette with a bit more flash and a stronger hook helpful in the deep waters where the bigger fish often congregate. These all come with a 3-way swivel.
The last configuration, probably the most popular, is referred to as the “Big Bait.” These still larger versions employ a 5/0 hook, a 5-inch squid, and a much bigger blade. This is a true doormat-fluke rig combining bulk, vibration and color. These bigger editions are known specifically as the Big Pink, the Green Monsta, White Lightning and the GlowDaddy. They are offered only with a 3-way swivel.

After countless hours on the water, Thom has narrowed it down to these four colors – pink, chartreuse, pearl and glow – which have proven to be the most productive. Which one produces best? That depends on whom you ask. Trying to convince an angler who has just decked a 10-pound doormat on Green Monsta that the Big Pink is the way to go is likely to be a hard sell. Having had many successful clients using all of the models and colors on hand, I’m can attest that they are all effective. However, if I had to pick one to win a tournament, I would be prone to pick a GlowDaddy.

These rigs should be decorated with whatever fluke temptations you prefer. Anything from traditional fluke strips, squid strips and mumichogs to an almost limitless number of fish flesh strips, including bluefish and dogfish, will produce. Live choggies as well as pond shiners, be they live or dead, are also good options. The one-two punch of a ThomCat rig with its color, action and flash and the scent and taste of whatever meat is presented will usually convince these fish to inhale that fatal mouthful. The ultra-sharp, offset VMC hook will make sure they get hooked and stay hooked.

The results of one particular RISAA year-long fluke tournament in 2003 are a true validation of the successes generated by these lures. In that competition, three of the top six fish were taken on ThomCats. First place in the junior division was a 14.59-pounder that fell to a Pink Magnum. In the adult division, first place was a 12.35-pound fish that was taken on a Glow Baby, and third place was a 10.10-pound specimen that swallowed a Green Monsta. Add to this the many, many other double-digit fluke, including my own, whose last meal included a ThomCat, and it’s easy to see why these fluke rigs are so popular with “flukemeisters” all the way down the East Coast and as far away as Texas, who share Capt. Thom’s addiction and swear by his fluke rigs.