By: Capt. Joel Brandenburg
The art of flat lining is simply the ability to allow your bait to flow from the boat out to the game fish at the same rate and speed as the flow of the current. We use the flat line technique in many situations in the Florida Keys. We flatline when we yellowtail fish, yellow jack fish, many times when we’re mahi fishing in several other types of snapper and grouper fishing. We use different sized jigs when flat lining and the weight or size of the jig is determined by the speed of the current and the depth of the water.
Over the years I’ve written about fishing spots, fishing techniques, and how to target certain species. I’ve rarely written about specific fishing products. Years ago, I wrote about Power Pole and how it was going to revolutionize the fishing industry. I bought my first Power Pole out of the inventor’s garage when he still had a patent pending on them. Everybody who fished inshore had to have a power pole, which, if you didn’t know is a hydraulic arm on the stern of your boat that anchors you in shallow water electronically with the push of a button.
Everybody wanted to buy one once they figured out that you could drift into a school of fish quietly push a button and stop your boat rather than anchoring traditionally which was loud, physical, and also not environmentally friendly with traditional anchors destroying reefs and seagrass. Then everybody had to have two on their boat once they realized one would anchor you and the other would position your boat.
Years before that, I wrote about a product called Bobs Machine Shop Jack Plate. Before Bobs Machine Shop jack plate all you could do was tilt your engine up and down with the push of a tilt and trim button now with Bobs Machine Shop jack plate you can jack your engine straight up and down allowing you to plane through much shallower water to get to your fishing spot.
There is another new product that I think will change offshore/nearshore fishing forever. It’s called the Bravo ACR LLC. Invented and patented by a local Marathon fisherman named Erick Bravo. ACR stands for Automatic Clip Return. Most offshore anglers use outriggers while trolling, kite/balloon fishing, drift fishing etc. The idea of having outriggers is keeping multiple baits separated and also keeping your baits out of your prop wash and being able to make tight turns and not tangling your baits on one another by deploying long arms port and starboard called outriggers.
Allegedly the first modern outriggers were invented in Marathon Florida Keys, however, here we are many years later and the modern outrigger has just been reinvented with ACR automatic clip return. As you know, fishing and especially offshore fishing is a game of inches and seconds. Inches and seconds matter a lot when presenting a bait to a hungry game fish. Before ACR, a captain would have to yell down to his First Mate, “hey Larry take the middle starboard outrigger and pull it down and change your bait your ballyhoo is trashed” or “Hey Larry put up your first port outrigger it’s running too low.” Or “Hey Larry you have weeds on your port long bait!” All day yelling at poor Larry, who has to bring multiple outriggers clips up and down all day by hand.
With ACR, the captain can sit in his captain’s chair, looking down at the cockpit and can control his entire set of outriggers with the push of a button on a little controller attached to a lanyard around his neck. No more yelling down to his First Mate to make outrigger adjustments. This not only allows the captain to have complete control of his outrigger system, but it allows the first mate to be doing other things such as rigging baits, cleaning the boat, catering to the clients, etc. Most of all it saves inches and seconds, not to mention people who fish alone or fish with novice anglers.
Before ACR, these captains without First Mates or experienced anglers would have to leave the wheel with the boat underway to adjust the outriggers while trolling, which is not only dangerous but time consuming. This invention is the coolest invention since the electronic windless anchor or auto pilot steering. I know there will be a day in the near future when you will step on to a nice offshore boat and already know the release clips on his outrigger system is equipped with an automatic clip return. Any offshore boat that has outriggers operated manually instead of electronically will be considered prehistoric! All of our offshore Ana Banana Boats are equiped with the new Bravo ACR LLC outrigger system. On another note, the fishing is great right now and will be getting better and better as we enter into springtime.
— For a charter with Ana Banana Fishing
Company call Captain Joel Brandenburg at office
305-395-4212 cell 813-267-4401 or visit us in person
at Ana Banana Marina 11699 Overseas Hwy Marathon or at our other location at Poncho’s Fuel Dock 1280 Oceanview Av Marathon