Flukes

[ww2farmer]

Over the years I have had a love/hate relationship with soft jerkbaits. They are fish catchers for sure, but my various issues have mostly been with the Zoom brand. So much so that I refuse to buy them. The best soft jerkbaits on the market are the GYCB D-shads...bar none. In a distant second place is the Strike King Caffeine Shad, and the discontinued Berkley Havoc "The Jerk".

 

An overlooked "finesse" soft jerkbait is the GYCB Shad Shape worm. Most people think of it as a drop shot bait, and it's excellent for that too. It's tough to throw weightless on casting gear, but I have caught some really big fish using it weightless on spinning tackle in gin clear shallow water

[moguy1973]

I've been using the Big Bite Baits Jerk Minnow and it's done really well for me.  It has a little side to side shimmy as it sinks which gives the tail a little action.  Has a top groove slot to hide the hook so they are little more weedless than Zooms.  Price is pretty good as I've been able to find bags of them at Academy for under $2 sometimes.

[ItsHardwick]

I caught a fish on a fluke today! Well, on a d-shad but you know what I mean. The advice in this thread really helped. 

[NYWayfarer]

The local river Smallies are not Fluke fans. The only way I catch them with fluke is as a trailer on a chatterbait.

[JustJames]

Most important to choose one brand over other on Soft Jerkbait is fall rate. The side to side action is a lot depend on how you twist and how you rig the hook. I have use different type of brand like D-Shad, Zoom, Yum, Big bite bait, and Some Elaztech Fluke. D-Shad is heaviest of the brunch follow by Caffeine Shad, BBB got biggest profile and fall pretty slow good action when fish on top of weed or just below surface, Zoom and Yum are in between when you can do pretty much all of above and shine on shallow water.

Am I too crazy about Fluke? For the past two years the first fish I caught was on Fluke and also the last fish I caught last year was also on Fluke.

[ItsHardwick]

What advice would y’all have for fishing a fluke lower in the water column? Say in 5-6 feet of water and then like 8-10 feet? Or is it just not advisable and there’s a better solution to that particular scenario???

 

im very excited about flukes now lol! As I said above I caught a fish on a dshad the other day and then followed that the next day by catching a couple on a double fluke rig. 

 

I like the d-shad so much better because I can actually keep it under water lol. Seems like the original zoom super salty flukes I can barely keep submerged, not to mention the fact that half of them (or more) are completely mangled coming out of the pack. 

[JustJames]

@ItsHardwickit a little bit tougher to fish Fluke at specific depth, other paddle tail or underspin would be better choice. it a lot easier if you want to dance your Fluke just below surface or on top of weed/along bottom.

Me I use count system 1 per foot and start twisting with rod tip point down. How long the pause depend on which Fluke you use (some sink faster than other). The best Fluke for this application is Zoom, Yum and BBB

If I fish shallow let say 8-10' I would let the Fluke sink down to bottom and jerks with rod tip up from 9:00 to 12:00 (~3 feet) then let the Fluke flutter down to bottom. D-shad get a lot of use on this technique.

About Fluke get mangled, as someone already mentioned, dip you mangled ones is boiled water just a few second and let it dry straight on paper towels.

[TnRiver46]

Got one on a fluke today and had a school of 6 or 8 fish attack it also, which I somehow missed. Had a 5/0 offset, couldn’t find a straight shank in the boat 

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Super fluke is a must have ..5'6" pistol grip makes it do tricks lighter line helps also 10 lb ..white baby bass and bubblegum .i use straight shanked hooks 4/0 ..gama owner and tru turn brute hook um sideways upside down and on a jig in saltwater

[Sam]

You are welcome.

 

Just remember to consider dipping the fluke's tail with a little lime dye.

[Brad Reid]

I learn something every time I get on here, I really do.

 

Those various plastics are all super. I had a heck of a year using the Keitech Shad Impacts. These are the ones with a straight pointy tail, not the paddle tail. Those are good too.

 

I think what it is a lot of us all agree to is how very flexible some of these are all seasons. So, if they aren't feeding on bottom, you might have a bad day with a T-Rigged worm. But, with the various fall rates and characteristics of shads and flukes, gosh, you can pull them across the top of the water, pull them over grass, let the settle to the bottom and fish them like a worm. 

 

These Shad Impacts? I love jerking them, letting them sink, twitching them. They really do look like injured and dying fish. Hard for a bass to pass up on an easy snack! I catch a decent percentage off the bottom. But, on the fall seems to be the most likely time they get bit.

 

Brad

[bowhunter63]

Recently tried the double fluke rig,Works great on the river.Give it a try you won't be disappointed. Congrats on your first fluke fish.

[Russ E]

I use several different brands, but the smokin shad super fluke catches me the most fish. 

I fish it weightless with a heavy wire hook most o the time. especially in the fall.

 

In summer I will fish it on a mojo rig, when fish are a little deeper. I put a 1/8 oz weight 2 foot up the line.

let it sink, then give a couple hard jerks, then let it settle back down to the bottom. If a fish bites it usually just feels heavy when you pick it up off of bottom.  

caught my personal best this summer on the mojo rigged smokin shad fluke.

[Big Rick]

Give this video a watch and you'll be more in tune with what the fish do when you get a strike. It's amazing. 

 

 

 

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Favorite fluke video. Most people fish a fluke too fast. The more patience the better, sometimes almost like deadsticking one works best.

 

And even throwing to the same spot multiple times! Thanks for sharing that video, most people won't look it up on YouTube

[FryDog62]

Fluke fan too, but graduated to a new level couple years ago and haven’t gone back.  5 inch Caffeine Shad on an Owner Twistlock Light, either unweighted or with a 3/32 oz. With this realistic dying/falling action I get 3x number of bites and good hook ups with the Owner.