Tom Rowland | How To Use Teasing In Jacks To Your Advantage | Tom Rowland Podcast Ep. 411

Tom Rowland is a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys who specializes in sight fishing, fly fishing, and jack crevalle techniques. In this How 2 Tuesday episode, he reveals a powerful technique that most anglers overlook: using hookless teaser lures to locate schools of jacks and bring them into casting range. Whether you're a novice caster struggling with distance, a fly fisherman looking to increase hookups, or a guide searching for new productive spots, Tom breaks down exactly why you'd fish without hooks, which lures work best, and how to execute the presentation that drives jacks absolutely crazy. This tactical breakdown could transform how you approach jack fishing in channels, flats, and coastal waters.

The Four Reasons to Fish Without Hooks

Most anglers assume fishing without hooks is counterintuitive, but Tom reveals four specific situations where removing the hooks gives you a massive advantage. The first is reconnaissance—you can prospect new channels and areas to see if jacks are present and how many are holding there. The second applies when you have anglers on the boat who simply can't make the cast required to reach feeding fish on the far side of a channel. Tom can launch a hookless plug with light braid across incredible distances, then bring the entire school into comfortable range for his clients. The third reason involves fly fishing presentations, where the teaser creates ideal conditions for a bait-and-switch setup. And the fourth? It's a scouting tool that helps guides build a mental database of jack locations, movements, and tidal patterns without burning through fishing time. Tom explains all four applications starting at 1:49.

Why This Technique Is Perfect for Fly Fishing

Blind casting for jacks with a fly rod can be productive, but Tom reveals a teasing setup that dramatically increases hookup rates. He positions himself on the left side of a right-handed fly angler, keeps his rod tip extremely low to the water to avoid tangles, and works the teaser across the angler's casting lane. As jacks chase the hookless plug toward the boat, the fly angler makes a cast that crosses Tom's line almost perpendicularly. Tom brings the teaser directly under the fly line, and what remains is the fly perfectly positioned in front of aggressive, committed fish. This technique works especially well for anglers targeting their first saltwater fish on fly, and Tom notes it's excellent practice for sailfish teasing in Costa Rica or Guatemala. The complete fly fishing teaser setup is detailed at 6:19.

The Best Lures and Leader Setup for Teasing

Tom's favorite teaser is a customized lure where he's broken off the bill and removed both hooks, creating what he describes as "basically a heavy pencil that floats." It casts like a bullet with 10 to 20 pound braid and skips across the surface like a fleeing ballyhoo or hound fish. Any floating lure can work, though Tom specifically avoids those with cupped popping faces because they create too much resistance and allow jacks to catch them too easily. The key is keeping the lure moving fast with a jerky retrieve that drives jacks crazy. Leader choice is critical—you're getting 10, 20, even 50 bites per cast instead of just one, so wire or heavy 40 to 60 pound fluorocarbon is essential. Tom notes the jacks will chew the paint off the lure and occasionally bite so hard they pull drag even without hooks. The complete lure customization technique Tom references starts at 8:42.

The Retrieve Technique That Makes Jacks Go Crazy

The most common mistake Tom sees when anglers try teasing is retrieving too slowly. He emphasizes that people drastically underestimate how fast jacks are until they watch a school explode on a teaser. The technique requires reeling almost as fast as you can while simultaneously jigging the rod up and down, creating a fast-slow-fast-slow darting motion. The goal is to let jacks just barely touch the lure without actually catching it, which creates a feeding frenzy response as more fish pile in thinking they're missing out on something incredible. Tom notes this retrieve is actually harder to master than it sounds, especially if you hand the rod to someone who hasn't done it before. The jacks will follow from long distances, and once you get 50 jacks chasing your hookless plug, you can stop it completely and they'll just sit there confused—giving your angler a perfect jig or fly presentation. Tom breaks down the exact retrieve mechanics at 10:36.

Final Thoughts from Tom

I've been getting hit up constantly on social media about this technique, and I wanted to make sure I broke it down thoroughly on How 2 Tuesday. So many people think it's some kind of secret lure or magic setup, but it's really just about understanding why you'd fish without hooks and executing the retrieve correctly. The truth is, most people retrieve way too slowly the first time they try this—you don't realize how incredibly fast these jacks are until you watch them explode on a teaser.

This technique has saved so many days for me as a guide. You know, the sight fishing is incredible early morning, then it gets cloudy around 11:00 and you've got four more hours on the water. Clients just want to bend the rod, and jack crevalle can absolutely make that happen when you know where to find them. Teasing helps you build that mental database of spots, tides, and patterns. You're learning without burning prime fishing time.

If you're fishing the Florida Keys, the Panhandle, or anywhere with good jack populations, this is worth adding to your arsenal. And if you're a fly angler targeting jacks, you should always have a teasing rod ready. It's that effective. Listen to the whole thing and you'll understand exactly how to set this up, what lures to use, and how to execute the retrieve that drives them absolutely crazy. This one's worth your time.