Donkey Rig…

[The Baron]

… aka the double fluke rig.  Is it 2x as good (or more) than a single fluke?  I fished a fluke for the first time last weekend and enjoyed some success.  I’m planning to hit a good little dual species lake (smallmouth and largemouth) on the weekend.  It’s a deep, clear water lake and I’m expecting good results with topwater, hard jerkbaits and flukes.  My Q is… should I just fish a single fluke, or is a donkey rig so great that I should tie that up?

[NavyToad]

I tried it twice last month and it looks good even though I didn’t have any luck. It’s easy to rig up and I think it’s definitely worth a try. It looks too good in the water not to work and I’ll be fishing it again.

[CountryboyinDC]

It's fun to watch.  If you're fishing any current, it's not fun to untangle.  With clear water you just get mesmerized watching it.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 hour ago, CountryboyinDC said:

It's fun to watch.  If you're fishing any current, it's not fun to untangle.  With clear water you just get mesmerized watching it.

This, just tried it for the first time last week, current makes it a real pain.  

 

It's deadly looking though, and I imagine on a pond it would get double ups in no time.   

[lynxcat]

I have a donkey rig setup right now. It’s pretty fun to fish and shockingly it rarely ever gets tangled. The two swivel setup is like magic how it untangles itself. 

[Bluebasser86]

I've tried it a few times but have never had a bite on it though. It usually just does what all double rigs do for me and loses baits twice as fast.

[lynxcat]

One nuance I am testing right now. I have my back hook as a lightly weighted (I think 1/8 ounce) wide gap screw lock and the front one is unweighted. I'm thinking this will allow me to have two varying actions and fish a little different water column. Other random things I am trying are using Zman on one and another manufacturer on the other. Zman has so much buoyancy that two of them on unweighted hooks like to bust the surface more than my liking. Zman on the weighted vs plastisol on the unweighted gets me varying actions as well.

 

In a nutshell, I'm experimenting.  

[Jrob78]

I've actually had good luck on the double fluke rig and caught doubles on it once. I haven't fished it in a few years though and never think about it. I need to tie one on and give it a go again.

[The Baron]

I’ve got a donkey rig tied up for tomorrow.  Canoe fishing, so we’ll see if casting it is a struggle or not.  I’ll report back on how it goes. ??

[bigbassin']

As others have said, it looks great but I’ve never gotten a bite with it.

[The Baron]

12 hours ago, bigbassin' said:

As others have said, it looks great but I’ve never gotten a bite with it.

That was my experience today.  It was a slow day though - very few bites and we never found the open water smallmouth I was after, so can't blame the presentation (didn't catch them on anything).  I’ll definitely try throwing the double fluke again - if I can ever find some of these schooling bass like I see on YouTube. lol

[PressuredFishing]

Open water yes

Around cover no

 

 

[Munkin]

It's one of those things that doesn't work all the time but when it does lights out. Like others have said current is a pain with this so I stick to lakes usually. Another thing is it works best in open water and it worked well at one lake I fish that is really clear. I would say the main reason I don't throw it as much is the second sliding bait gets tangled with every rod I own in the back of the truck.

 

Allen

[padon]

i only use it if i see schooling fish or if i notice fish following a fish that ive caught. ive had some luck with it but its not what i usually start with.

[FishTank]

On 10/1/2022 at 7:17 PM, PressuredFishing said:

Open water yes

Around cover no

 

This is sort of my issue with it. On some lakes it's great but in a deep reservoir where I am running points and bank cover spots, it's not as effective for me as a single fluke.  Also, wind can be a factor, which its pretty windy at all the lakes I fish.