Fluke Fishing

[BassLKN]

I am new to bass fishing and decided to become a master myself. The only questions I have are:

1. What are the best brands for flukes?
2. What colors should I use in stained water?
3. What's some good ways to rig them if I'm bank fishing this time of year?

[tcbass]

We have stained/clear water here and use Zoom Super a Flukes in pearl.




My bros gf isn't an experienced fisherman. Just casts and reels in and she catches a ton doing that.
 

[iceintheveins]

I like lemon shad, white, and bubble gum in stained water. For the super flukes a 3/0 EWG and the jrs a 1/0 EWG. A slow retrieve with a twitch or two ever 10 seconds and let it sink a lot.

[flyingmonkie]

Can't go wrong with Zoom, and in stained water, pearl with some JJ's chartreuse dye on the tail is my goto.

 

My rig from the bank ALL SUMMER has been the Jerk Shot.  Still producing.

 

[gramps50]

Be sure to use a swivial with a fluke to help with line twist.

[JayKumar]

Sweet jerk shot rig! Make sure you watch your line. Sometimes they suck it in and u won't feel it.

[OntarioFishingGuy]

3/0 hook weightless rigged, walk it just under the surface and let it come up to the surface once in awhile, it looks like a fleeing baitfish. As for stained water, I really can't help you there, but as the others have said, a brighter colour should work well. As for brands, Zoom gets my vote as well, but I have also been doing very well on Powerbait and Gulp jerkshads.

[Jrob78]

If you're using a "Fluke" it's a Zoom.   I like Bass Assassins, Caffeine Shad and Zoom Flukes.  I fish them TX rigged on casting gear with 3/0-5/0 hook.  As far as Fluke color for stained water, bubble gum, chart. pearl, green pumpkin, golden bream, junebug, black, and then maybe some of the bright whites and silvers would be worth trying.

[smalljaw67]

I prefer River Rock Baits 4" Jointed Jerkbait and the 5" Jointed Jerkbait, they have a lot of action but stay down when you work them and that is important right now. I rig them Texas style weightless and for the 4" version I use an Owner Light wire twist lock hook in a 2/0 size and I use the same in a 3/0 for the 5" but with the 5" I'll sometimes go to a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook. The one thing with the jointed jerkbait is the joint itself, you can't use more than a 2/0 hook on the 4" version because even a 3/0 will go past the joint and will hurt the action but that if fine with me as even with fluke Jr.s I would only use a 2/0 as to keep all the action.

[Catt]

Zoom Salty Super Fluke

Watermelon Slice

Texas Rigged on a Mustad EWG 4/0 hook

Weightless

[Shockwave]

Zoom Salty Super Fluke

Watermelon Slice

Texas Rigged on a Mustad EWG 4/0 hook

Weightless

This would be good for a suspended/shallow water presentation.  If you're fishing deep and wanna keep the fluke near the bottom, I wouldn't go with the salty ones.  C-rig it with a cylindrical weight for deeper applications.  

[Catt]

This would be good for a suspended/shallow water presentation. If you're fishing deep and wanna keep the fluke near the bottom, I wouldn't go with the salty ones. C-rig it with a cylindrical weight for deeper applications.

Uhh! Read the front of the package!

They are all salty

[Shockwave]

Complete brain fart.  my mistake.  Salt sinks anyway so who knows what the hell I was thinkin about.  This is what happens when I try to mutitask at work!

[jtharris3]

My go to colors in the Zoom super fluke are White Ice, Smokin Shad, Pearl, Baby Bass, and Watermelon Magic! I rig mine with a large swivel about 18" above the fluke, weightless on a 4/0 or 5/0 off set worm hook.

[UKCats55]

Can't go wrong with Zoom, and in stained water, pearl with some JJ's chartreuse dye on the tail is my goto.

 

My rig from the bank ALL SUMMER has been the Jerk Shot.  Still producing.

 

Nice jerk shot rig, definitely going to try this soon. I fish from shore a lot as well. Thanks for sharing!!

[Balshy Fishing]

Call me uninformed[lol] but how does the jerkshot work exactly? 

[Preytorien]

You'll find a fluke is one of the most underrated lures I can think of. For me at least they seem to catch fish when nothing else will.

 

You can rig them a variety of ways. Weightless, weighted, texas rigged, carolina rigged, dropshot, the list could go on and on, you really can't rig it wrong.

 

I find my best success when it's weightless. I twitch it along just underneath the surface, with occasional splurts on the top of the water. It seems to adequately mimic a dying or distressed minnow. Often times I'll have bass blow up on it just like they would a frog or other topwater. I've seen them trail a fluke, and I've also seen them come from over 10ft away to hit it. The strikes are violent so hang on!

 

But on the other hand, when I'm in the river smallmouth fishing (but have also seen it in lakes/ponds for largemouth), sometimes the fish can't resist it on the fall. It's like they're sitting there waiting for the "minnow" to make it's last living movement, then when it falls through the water column they just whop it.

 

Kind of a side note, since I use the pearl color and often am just twitching it underneath the surface, make sure you're wearing polarized glasses, it'll make the fluke easier to see, and what's interesting is you'll be able to very clearly see the fish whack your lure, which in my opinion is really cool to watch and increases my hookup ratio since I can see all the action.

 

When I rig it (weighted or weightless), I bury the hook enough that I can pull it through cover without hanging up, it just increases my chances of getting the fluke in front of something hungry. That said many guys use a wide gap hook, but I've found better hookup ratios when I use a straight shank offset worm hook. The straight shank when pushed through the body of the fluke exits the back of the lure at an angle, which helps reduce the number of missed hits. A member here on BR told me about this trick since I was getting a lot of hits but not hookups. I tried it and instantly my HU ratio skyrocketed, use good sharp hooks.

 

All in all, I think you'll find a fluke one of your go-to baits, especially when nothing else is hitting. It seems for me this summer has been tough on my waters, but a fluke is about the only thing they'll consistently hit.

 

I don't know what brand you bought, but a couple good ones to keep in mind are of course Zoom Flukes (tried and true, been around a while), but I have better success with the Strike King Caffeine Shad - usually in straight pearl color. From what I see it's got excellent action. I've had more luck with the SK's than anything else by far. I've never tried the Mega Strike Fat Shads or Mega Shads, but they look like winners too, that'll probably be the next ones I try. I like the look of the MS Fat Shad in Laminate Smoke....I could see that being a killer.

 

Give em' a try, maybe you'll get hooked and like me you'll have to buy a pack every time you're at Wally World

[LunkerFisher]

I've had some success using a Tennessee shad color Zoom as a chatterbait trailer.

[JeziHogg]

I like nose hooking them and fishing them like a jerkbait.

[Catt]

Weightless fished on the bottom like a Texas Rig!

[F14A-B]

Weightless for the awesome action, but there is almost no Wrong Way to fish it.... Jig head, trig/tungsten slip, under spins , they are a inexspensive plastic as well... I picked up a couple bags, a couple days ago for less than $3 a bag....

[Lip 'em!]

Dont be afraid to try out the donkey rig as well! I was skeptical at first but when i finally built up the courage to tie one up, i was amazed with the action and caught several nice fish!

[ChrisD46]

All good replies - but for a Zoom Super Fluke you need a EWG 5/0 hook (4/0 is is small as I would go) . A Zoom Super Fluke Jr. takes a 3/0 EWG hook ... You want to clear the thick plastic and get a good hookset - that is questionable if the hook is too small .