A Primer for Drift Fishing The Race
Part II: Rods, Reels and Basic Technique
Posted 6/16/02

by Mark Sanner
Copyright 2002

The Race.

Capital T. Capital R.

On eastern Long Island Sound, whenever you mention The Race, no one asks, "Which one?". There is only THE Race in this neighborhood. Sure there are other areas with strong currents -- Montauk, Block Island, Plum Gut -- but mention The Race and everyone knows what you're talking about.

For the uninitiated, The Race lies between Fishers Island and Little Gull Island, a distance of about four miles. Nautical charts refer to The Race as only the deep channel between Race Rock lighthouse and Valiant Rock, but to anglers The Race means the entire fish-holding, tide-ripping, wind-swept, rock-strewn reef. The contour in some sections is quite dramatic: The shipping channel is about 160-200 feet deep, and the top of Valiant Rock, perhaps 1/4 mile away, is only about 20 feet deep. From this rocky, gnarly peak, the reef slopes west-south-west down to about 85 feet, a hump rises in the middle to about 50 feet, then descends again to a deep flat at about 80-100 feet before dropping into another narrow channel near Little Gull Island. The water to the north and south sides of the reef is 250-300 feet and even deeper in some spots.

When the tide is moving, all that water has to squeeze through a relatively skinny space. Since it can't expand (much), the result is a venturi tube effect, producing a fast, strong current at mid-tide. On the downstream side of the reef, the water boils up into a rough, ragged, washing machine of a standing wave rip. Fast tide, deep water, boat-rocking rip, fully exposed to the wind, heavy traffic on busy weekends.

Welcome to The Race.

Why would anybody in his right mind fish this awful place?

In a word, fish. There are fish at The Race.

Unlike many of the other shallower, slower water shoreline and bottom structure in the Sound where night time is the best time to find bass, and where dusk and dawn are the next best opportunities for many of us weekend warriors, it's possible to catch blues and bass at The Race in the middle of the afternoon on the hottest, stickiest mid-summer days. Not always, of course, but often. Often enough that the charter boats and party boats target The Race almost exclusively throughout the summer months. On a busy holiday weekend, there are so many boats, you'd think you could walk the length of The Race without getting your feet wet. A busy weekend at The Race is like fishing the Jersey Turnpike.

Fishing The Race is not finesse fishing. If you're like me and only fish inshore, your Race rod and reel is likely to be your heaviest rig. The difference is that the deep, fast water requires extra large sinkers to deliver the bait to the fish hugging the bottom and keep it there as long as possible. Heavy weights require tackle to match. On the other hand, the lures and bait used at The Race are by and large the same as those use throughout the Sound to fool bass, blues and the occasional albie and bonito.

Rods
In Part 1 of this discourse, I mentioned that the sinkers I use at The Race range from 16 to 28 oz.. One pound to 1.75 pounds of lead. Pounds. You're going to need a stout boat rod rated for 20-50 lb. line. I've been using a Shakespeare Ugly Stik Bigwater boat rod (BWB114066, 6'6") for several years and believe this is a good choice for both beginners and experienced anglers because it's widely available, it's made to take a lot of punishment and retails for about $62.

Other rods in this weight and price range include Penn Power Stick Plus (PC3866MH, 6'6", 20-50 lb line, $60) and Penn Slammer (SLC2701AX, 7'0", 20-50 lb. line, $60).

If you like a much stiffer rod, you might consider an Ugly Stik BWB116066 rated for 40-80 lb. line or something similar. I prefer the 6'6" length only because it fits in my car better than a 7'0" or longer rod. I haven't taken the plunge into a more expensive Race rod, but maybe I will some day soon. I'm just not convinced (yet) that a more expensive rod ($180 and up) will make that much of a difference for this kind of slam-bam, heavy sinker fishing. However, the day I decide to part with an extra C-note for a Race rod, it will probably be a St. Croix Premier Saltwater casting rod (SWC66HF, 30-50 lb., 6'6", $200) or a similar custom built rod available at some tackle shops in southeastern Connecticut.

Reels
For my first few seasons fishing The Race, I used a Penn 330 GTI reel. Weighing in at 26 oz. with line capacity of 350 yards of 30 lb. mono, this reel is a beast. Like all Penn reels, it's built to take a beating and is easy to maintain.

However, I eventually decided I'd like to try something lighter and smaller that would be easier on my arms and shoulders during a long day of dragging a pound or two of lead around. I stepped down in size to a Penn 310 GTI (325 yards/15 lb., 4.3:1, 16 oz.), and I'm glad I did. This reel is nicely matched to the bass and blues at The Race, has more than enough line capacity (especially if you're using super braid), and weighs 10 oz. less than its big brother 330 GTI.

Last spring, I treated myself to a Penn International 975 (340 yards/15 lb., 4.5:1, 15 oz.), and have had a ball with this reel. The smooth action, drag and feel are simply amazing, although I guess it's reasonable to expect this from a $200+ reel.

Shimano Calcutta is another excellent reel at a similar price. I tend to choose rods and reels on the light end of the range for a particular application, but if you're a person who prefers the look and feel of beefier reels, you might step up in size to Penn 320 GT2 (formerly 320 GTI, 320 yards/20 lb., 22 oz., $93) or a 330 GTI ($100).

If you prefer a conventional reel without level wind, take a look at Penn Special Senator 112H (375 yards/30 lb., 4:1, 25 oz., $70).

About $150:
Ugly Stik Bigwater boat rod (BWB114066 or BWB114070) and Penn 310 GTI

About $300:
Ugly Stik Bigwater boat rod (BWB114066 or BWB114070) and Penn International 975

About $440:
St. Croix Premier Saltwater (SWC66HF) and Penn International 975

If you buy a rod and reel combination, most tackle shops will discount the total price a little or give you a free spool of line and load it on the reel for you. Naturally, there are countless rod and reel combinations that will work well, and every angler has his own personal preferences. Putting together a starter setup for The Race is easy and doesn't have to break your bank. Experience and your wallet will help you figure out which parts of the rod and reel combination to modify to better fit your taste and fishing habits.

Basic Technique
By now, you've researched all possible combinations of rod, reel, line, lure, and terminal tackle and have made your selections. You're in the boat, approaching The Race. With more than a mile of fishable terrain at your disposal, where do you start? I suggest you pick a spot the way many experienced anglers begin a day at The Race: Go where most of the other boats are already positioned. Get close enough that you can see approximately where they're starting and ending their drifts, head up tide to a spot that's in the vicinity of, but not too close to, a couple other boats, and turn off the engine.

Since you had the foresight to rig your lines at home the night before or at the dock prior to departure, all you have to do is select a sinker (16 or 20 oz. is a good guess for starters) and drop the rig overboard. The objective is to keep the bucktail within about 5 feet of the bottom. Let it free spool rapidly, controlling the rate of descent with light to moderate pressure on the spool with your thumb. "Free spool" does not mean "free fall". If you aren't using enough thumb pressure, the spool will spin too rapidly and you'll get backlash either on the way down or when the sinker hits bottom.

As soon as you feel the sinker hit bottom, engage the reel and crank it up two or three turns. Wait two or three seconds. Dip the rod tip down to see if you can make the sinker touch bottom. If you feel your sinker bump bottom when your rod tip is near the surface, lift the rod tip back up to the 2 or 3 o'clock position; your depth is perfect. This almost never happens, however, because the action of wind and tide on the boat, on your line and on your terminal tackle usually lifts the rig up off the bottom. When you dip your rod tip down after the first drop, chances are you won't feel it bump bottom again. In this case, free spool again until your sinker hits bottom and immediately crank it up a couple turns.

Keep repeating this process of dip, feel for bottom, free spool, wait and crank all the way across the drift. This method works well if you're over nearly flat bottom. If you're fishing a rapidly rising bottom, the technique is a little different. Chances are that you'll still have to free spool a few times to keep the rig near the bottom at the beginning of the drift as the whole system reaches equilibrium, but at some point, your rig will hit the rising bottom even though you haven't changed anything. When this happens, immediately lift the rod tip a couple feet to avoid dragging your rig along the bottom. Give the reel a couple cranks and slowly lower the rod tip. If you feel a bottom bump, lift the rod tip again, two or three cranks, and lower the rod tip. Keep repeating this process of "stair stepping" your rig up the slope of the rising bottom.

After you clear the summit, reverse the process. That is, free spool every few seconds, hit bottom, and give it only one crank to "stair step" the rig down the back side of the hump. A fish finder and a buddy to keep one eye on it can be very helpful in alerting you to changes in the bottom contour so you can be prepared to raise or lower the rig to match.

As I mentioned before, the object of the game is to keep the rig within 5 feet or so of the bottom, but not so close to the bottom that it drags or hangs up frequently. One problem that beginners sometimes have is distinguishing the normal pull on the rod and reel created by the line, sinker and rig slicing through the water from the pull of the rig dragging along soft bottom. The ability to quickly distinguish these two types of drag comes with practice. However, if you think you might be dragging bottom, bring your rig up 20 cranks and begin the process again. Free spool, crank, wait, dip. You don't have to bring the rig all the way back up to the boat to re-establish contact with bottom.

There's one very handy tip I learned from a charter boat captain that I still use most of the time. When you feel a bump on your line, it's probably your sinker touching bottom. However, sometimes it's a striped bass mouthing your bait. Bluefish normally slam a bait pretty hard, but bass usually have much more refined table manners. If you don't do anything, a bass can and will spit out the lure in a flash, and you'll be left wondering what happened. Understanding the difference between a gentle bottom touch and a bass hit can be difficult even for experienced anglers when using such heavy sinkers and tackle.

A solution: Whenever you feel a bump on your line, set the hook. If it's bottom, this will drastically reduce the number of snags. If it's a bass, you'll greatly improve your chances of hooking up. Either way, a quick, firm snap of the rod when you feel a bump is a good habit to develop, and it doesn't have to be a giant, sweeping, eye-crossing, jaw-busting hook set. Assuming you're using sharp hooks (you sharpened the hooks on all your bucktails the night before, too, right?), all it takes is a quick snap from 3 o'clock to 1 o'clock, raising the bait two or three feet, to jerk your sinker out from behind a rock or your hook into a striper's lip. Give it a try.

Closing Thoughts
This primer represents some of what I've learned about fishing The Race and what works for me. It's certainly not the last word on fishing The Race, or even the first word for that matter. There are so many combinations of rods, reels, line, lure and terminal tackle that are effective for catching bass and blues at The Race that it would be impossible and pointless to try to list them all.

I think that's a big part of the problem for beginners. There are so many variations on the basic themes that it's hard to know where to start, and the process of trial and error can be time consuming, costly and frustrating. My hope is that the suggestions I've provided here will help a few novice Race anglers get a head start on selecting a combination that will help put fish in the boat the next time they visit The Race.

The setups I've discussed for drift fishing The Race work well for me today, but tomorrow is another story. I'm sure the basic concepts will remain unchanged: stout rod, durable reel, no-stretch line, heavy sinkers, keep the lure close to the bottom. The details of how I accomplish this will continue to evolve, however, and that's my advice to any Race Rangler.

Find a system that works for you, then change a piece or two of the combination occasionally based on what you learn from friends, neighbors and tackle shops. If the new component is an improvement, incorporate it into your routine, but if not, discard it and try another. Eventually, you'll create a setup that's customized to suit you and your fishing habits and consistently puts fish in the boat.

Many anglers settle on one formula that they like and use it for decades. "Whatever floats your boat," as they say. I like to tinker and I like gadgets, so fishing is a great hobby for me. I've spent several years assembling a setup and a method for fishing The Race that I really like and that works well, but I'll keep tinkering with it, too.