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RIGGING FOR RECORDS ON THE FLORIDA FLATS

© Louis Bignami

Realize that rigging for line-test records, while vital, is only part of the game. You need a decent guide to find spots where big fish can be played without cutting you off to spot fish, keep you calm and pole like a demented vaulter when fish run. Since record gear is specialized, the guide may provide this as well. Otherwise you need several outfits so you can switch baits or methods when conditions change. You need a day when the conditions are right — strong tides or strong winds reduce your chances. You need to know how to play big fish on light line — keep it short and keep the pressure on, but lightly. Don't forget to "bow to the tarpon" either. Most of all you need buckets of luck! But the luck only counts after you handle the details.

Jose Webeje and Bill Riesenfeld's 44-pound, 12-ounce record permit, a much rarer trophy than a tarpon. PHOTO: BILL REISENFELD

At first, records like Bill Riesenfeld's 44-pound, 12-ounce permit or 108-pound tarpon taken on four-pound test seem impossible. They are more probable if tackle is rigged properly. According to Bill Riesenfeld, "If it were not for the Bimini twist, heavy line section and shock tippet, you could play a fish until exhausted, and then not be able to move it in to be gaffed or released."

The Bimini twist is a rather complicated looking knot that comes as close to 100per cent as you can imagine. The heavy — usually doubled — line section lets you move fish to within reach when they're exhausted at the boat and, like the shock tippet, improve abrasion resistance to the fish's teeth, scales and fins and to various bottom hazards. See IGFA regulations.

Even given this, there is little margin for error on the flats. The least gear failure means a lost fish and a possible lost record. Riesenfeld noted when interviewed about his records, "I'm meticulous about gear. Maybe it's a carry over from work (New York real estate Investments), but you have to have everything just right."

Reisenfeld has several custom rods: Knightsticks, for his favorite four-pound test made by Jim Knight and several outfits rigged and ready offer a quick second chance when a fish knocks a bait off or refuses one kind of lure. Riesenfeld only uses Diawa BG15 reels, but modifies these to his taste.

When interviewed about his record, he noted, "The weak spots on spinning reels are the rollers and drags. BG15 rollers are excellent, and I know how to fix the drag. Diawa used to use a mix of Teflon and leather washers. Now they use all Teflon. I replace most of the Teflon washers with leather — I still have a small supply. Then I use just the right amount — it's important not to use too much — of Teflon grease on the washers. This works perfectly if, but only if, you remove all tension from the washers by releasing the drags when you aren't fishing. You have to add extra lubrication more often than casual fishermen might think as well."