Soft jerk bait

[Rick Howard]

I think it might be called a fluke.  Whatever ya call it I have an issue that is plaguing me.  I normally use the traditional type jerk bait like the rapala minnow but, when there is lots of junk on the water it makes it difficult to fish that bait.  To combat the issue I've been trying a soft jerk bait but the dang think won't stay under the water!  Anyone have any suggestions for how to keep this thing down?  I've tried a hook with a small keel weight.  That's was better than no weight but still not 100% and I lose the suspension.  So I tried a larger keel weight but obviously it sank like a stone.  Any suggestions?  

 

The bait is made by Zoom.  I'm fishing it on a 7' mh fast casting rod.  I tied a medium heavy fast spinning rod but that had the same issue.  Thought maybe the lighter line and more flex in the rod would help but, no joy.  

[JustJames]

How deep are you trying to fish and how fast you jerk? I would use M/F with pretty soft tip for Fluke. Also try Yamamoto d-shad which it would stay down deeper than Fluke but not last as long.

[IndianaFinesse]

You're jerking it to hard and/or fast.  Try slowing down.

[Mike L]

Go get a package of Nail weights and insert one in its back or nose. 

If you can't find any locally, a ribbed roofing nail will work just as well. 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[IndianaOutdoors]

Trying to get a fluke to suspend won't work.  There is no bill or lip like a rapala to get the bait down in the water column so it takes weight to get it there.  The less weight the closer it will be to suspending but the longer time you need to let it sink.  Try longer pauses to let the fluke sink a little more.  Also since there isn't the added resistance if a lip or bill, it takes just a small twitch to get it moving.  Jerking too fast or too hard will bring it right up to the surface.  Hard jerkbait and soft jerkbait truly are different baits.

[TOXIC]

Good tips so far but I will add one more....change baits.  Yamamoto DShad is a fluke style bait that weighs more than most other fluke style baits (and it's made out of the same plastic as a Senko).  I have fished it in the weedy waters of the Potomac River letting it fall through holes in the mat and working across the top of the mat like a topwater and I have drug it on the bottom of 6-12ft of water on Lake St Clair like a tube and crushed the smallmouth.  There are certain things you can do to alter the fall rate but I never weight the bait.  I will go up or down in hook size and I will on occasion go with a little heavier line to change the fall rate.  The DShad has a faster fall rate than any other fluke I have found.

 

 

[Rick Howard]

Thank you fellas.

[Scott F]

Another fluke style bait that sinks but is cheaper and more durable is the Case Sinking Shad and the Case Sinking Minnow. 

[fishballer06]

Flukes (soft jerkbaits) don't go deep, unless you're really willing to sit and wait for them to sink. I've found that the Strike King Caffeine Shads sink a little quicker than the Zoom Flukes. As for a weighted hook, I really like the VMC Drop Dead screwlock hooks. They're weighted a little to help with the sink rate, and they have a longer shape that is helpful on a longer bait like a fluke. 

[Choporoz]

I use weighted swimbait hooks....a lot....but not for flukes.  I prefer to fish flukes weightless, but on occasion when I want to get them down a bit, I like the weight to be separated a ways from the bait.  Otherwise, the action gets killed.  

   1/16 oz BPS XPS Finesse Weights (pegged or unpegged) work well.

 A single split shot 18 inches up the line may get you exactly what you want, also. 

[Montanaro]

Man...soft jerkbait on top of the water is exactly like a fleeing shad.  No reason to slow down.

 

Really grabs fish attention.  But I have watched boaters using zoom flukes and they can at times act like a topwater.  Gambler and GYCB make soft jerkbaits that will stay just under the surface but ocassionally kiss the top which I like.

[fishwizzard]

I have a little spool of super fine lead wire ment for fly tying.  I will sometimes wrap it around the shank of the hook before I put the fluke on.  You can tune the plastic to have whatever drop weight you want and the lead wire helps keep the head of the fluke in place.  

[RPreeb]

Just one thing that hasn't been mentioned... maybe use flourocarbon if you aren't already.  Mono is buoyant, so you would be fighting the line and the bait to keep it down.

[Comfortably Numb]

As said start with flouro.

 

Use a 4/0 screw lock hook.

 

Sounds like you may be trying to force the bait to do something it is not designed to do.

 

Couple twitches and it will dart erratically. Pause and let it sink slowly like a dieing bait fish.

[Rick Howard]

Thanks for the great replies fellas.  Sounds like I'm asking the bait to do something it's not capable of.  

 

Maybe a better question is this.  Is there a jerk bait that will run about 2 that doesn't collect so much debris?  I don't care if it's floating or sinking so long as it doesn't do either quickly.  

[JustJames]

Don't give up soft jerkbait. I seriously doubt that hard to find thing that soft jerkbait not capable of. Only a few thing that I think hard jerkbait got avantage over soft jerkbait is true suspended at the depth they designed to. Secondly is rattling sound of hard jerkbait.

Try slow lite twisted with the rod tip down if you want them to suspend, lift the rod tip to 90 degree twist to the side if you want it to dance just below surface. Lift rod tip up and pop just like Senko when you fish it on bottom or top water action.

Below is my Fluke where I add small weight and rattle using shrink tube. This can be done with twist lock hook and I can move weight to almost the end to achieve that action of gliding down. You should at least give Yamamoto d-shad a try before call it quit.

[crypt]

On ‎9‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 11:01 PM, Mike L said:

Go get a package of Nail weights and insert one in its back or nose. 

If you can't find any locally, a ribbed roofing nail will work just as well. 

 

 

 

 

Mike

this.................and try using flouro line it sinks,will help keep the bait down.

[Master Bait'r]

Slug-go does make a sinking model.  

 

Nail weights or clipped pieces of welding rod let you dial dial your sink rate too.  

[Bankbeater]

I don't like to use a weight with flukes so if the water isn't more than 10 or 15 feet then I Let the fluke sink. When I move the bait I keep the rod tip down. 

[Chris at Tech]

A few options...

• heavier gauge hooks
• use fluorocarbon
• keel weighted hook
• pinch a split shot a foot or so in front of the fluke
• try a Caffeine Shad

[N Florida Mike]

I use zoom flukes a lot. I use a 3/0 wide gap hook with no weight on 10 lb hybrid line . I have no problem with it sinking. I catch most of the fish just throwing it out and letting it sink. Even doing that only will often cause it to dart erratically to one side or the other. I dont have any problem with it sinking though,unless Im fishing a weed mat and it gets hung up. Them and senkos are my favorite baits.Use as small a weight as possible if you must,or it will reduce the action.

[TOXIC]

I may be stating the obvious here but you do know how to thread the bait on the hook to make it dart down, up or side to side right?  

[fishwizzard]

45 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

I may be stating the obvious here but you do know how to thread the bait on the hook to make it dart down, up or side to side right?  

I would one would be interested in your thoughts on this.  I will flip a fluke over and fish it upside down when it gets too ripped up to stay weedless rigged upright and I do kinda feel like it darts down more when rigged that way, but I have never really tested it out.  

[TOXIC]

My experience is with a Yamamoto DShad so I can't comment on the other makers and if this works with them.  When you first put the hook point in the nose of the bait (for me a Gamakatsu 4.0 EWG), envision a bullseye on the bait nose.  Where you start the hook will determine how the bait acts in the water when you "jerk" it.  Most everyone doesn't even pay attention to this and tries for the center just because that's where the most "material" is and it keeps your bait from tearing.  If I want my bait to jump up, which is what baitfish do in the matted grass, I will insert the hookpoint lower in the nose.  If I want it to dive down for deeper water or to act like a stunned baitfish in open water, I hook it nose high.  If I want a vertical fall with a straight side to side action (active baitfish or topwater), I go for dead center in the nose. It's very amazing how just a little adjustment can totally alter the action and take it to the next level.  You can also affect the action by how far you put the hook point in and how you thread it through the bait before you skin hook it.  Can you tell I fish DShads a lot?     I get very precise on my rigging from all the years I have thrown Senkos and not wanting them to tear prematurely.  

[fishwizzard]

Interesting, I will have to play around with hook placement a little.  

 

I have used the Dshads and like them, but I tend to fish flukes on pretty light tackle and the DShads are a bit heavy for my rod.