DUO Beach Walker Flipper iT38 Review: The Tungsten Flipper for Rough Surf and Long Casts

If you fish sand in Japan, you will see Flippers everywhere. DUO’s Beach Walker Flipper is the swimming metal jig most surf anglers own at least one of, and it is a lure I recommend to beginners without hesitation. The Flipper iT38 is the version for days when the ordinary ones stop working: a compact body with tungsten inside, built to fly further, sink faster and stay down in rough water.

This is what it is, how it differs from the rest of the family, and where I use it in a session.

Two kinds of metal jig for flatfish

Japanese flatfish jigs fall into two groups: jigs you jerk and jigs you wind. For hirame from the beach, the second group dominates – a jig that swims on a steady retrieve, close to the bottom, with no rod work required. The Flipper is the reference lure of that swimming type. Distance, appeal and ease of use are all strong, which is why it became the default.

The family has two main branches: the standard lead Flipper, and the Flipper Z, made of zinc. Zinc is lighter than lead, so a Flipper Z of the same weight has a noticeably bigger body – more appeal, but more lift and less distance. The iT38 goes the other way.

What the iT38 changes

• Tungsten in the rear of the body. The body is about the size of a 24 g Flipper Z, but the tungsten brings it to 38 g. Small and heavy means it casts a long way and cuts through wind.
• It sinks fast and does not lift. In high surf and strong wind, lighter jigs get pushed up and away from the bottom. The iT38 stays down where the flounder are.
• The line eye sits further forward. That gives a flatter, more horizontal swimming posture, which holds the depth better and reduces the pull on the retrieve.
• Two hooks, front and rear, like the rest of the Flipper range – better hook-ups than a single-hook jig.

Specification

How to fish it

Keep it simple. The two retrieves that work best are a steady wind and stop-and-go. Lift-and-fall and jerks get reactions too, but stop-and-go is my first choice:

1. Cast as far as you can and let it hit the bottom.
2. Take up the slack.
3. Wind a few turns, stop, and let it touch the bottom again.
4. Repeat all the way in.

If you are new to surf fishing, do not overthink it. Cast long and wind steadily. The thing that makes the difference with flatfish is feeling the bottom – and the iT38 is the easiest Flipper to feel touching down.

iT38 or Flipper Z?

One honest note: on very rough days, even a 40 g jig can become impossible to control. If you cannot feel the bottom with the iT38, it is time to stop rather than to go heavier.

Where it fits in a session

I use the iT38 in two situations:

• To search water nothing else reaches. Once lighter lures have covered the close water, the iT38 lets you fish the zone further out that nobody has touched.
• When it is too rough for anything else. It is the Flipper that tells you most clearly when it has hit the bottom, so it gets used a lot on bad days.

My usual order at dawn is: floating minnow, then soft plastic, then sinking pencil, then Flipper iT38. Early in the morning, bait and flounder are often close to the beach, so I start near with light lures and work outwards. The iT38 comes in when the near water is done.

The downsides

• Price. For a metal jig it is expensive – much more than a budget jig like the Jigpara.
• Tangles if you jerk it. The line occasionally wraps the hooks when you jerk the rod. On a steady retrieve it is not an issue.
• Hooks blunt quickly on sand. True of any bottom-contact lure on a beach. Check the points and replace them often.

Alternatives

The obvious rival is the Shimano Spin Beam, which has been on the market longer. Both catch plenty of flounder and cast about the same distance. In my experience the Flipper’s paint is tougher; the Spin Beam is cheaper, and it also comes in a tungsten version if you want even more distance and sink rate. For DUO’s newest tungsten-plus-blade model, see my notes on the Flipper iTMB33.

Verdict

The Flipper iT38 is a lure you will be glad to have on the bad days and the long-distance days. It is not the first lure I tie on, but it is the one that keeps me fishing when conditions turn – and it is easy enough that it also works as a beginner’s first surf lure.

Read next

• DUO Flipper iTMB33: the tungsten-and-blade Flipper
• Five lures for Japanese flounder from the beach
• DUO Beach Walker Haul review
• Japanese metal jigs for shore fishing
• Tide, wind and swell: deciding whether to fish the beach

MINAGIMAN

JAPAN ANGLER

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Born in 1994. Originally from Hyogo Prefecture, I moved to Iwata City in Shizuoka Prefecture in search of the sea. I am an Enshunada surf angler who enjoys surf fishing. I am also active on YouTube, and my fishing grounds range from Irago to Iwata.