Rigging a fluke type bait.

[Fishing Rhino]

I've been "playing" with the Strike King Caffein Shad the past couple of weeks.

First, I rigged it on a ShakE2 jig head, and got good results.

Then, fishing it in a coontail laden pond, I rigged it weedless on a weightless Owner Twistlock, 4/0 hook.  It went through the dense stuff flawlessly, but produced more fish when it would rise when jerked, but suddenly dart downward when given slack in the line.

At times, it may be more desirable to have it dart to the surface, and then settle slowly.

The problem, how to rig it to produce two or more distinctly different, even opposite actions to your input.

I took my cue from the Rage Tail (among my favorite baits) instructions for their toad, and space monkey.

For them to work as designed, they should have a slight bow or bulge toward the belly side of the bait.  This bulge occurs naturally when the back of the bait is straight, not unlike the fluke.

If it's humped up, it will tend to dive and twist.

I applied that to the Caffein Shad, and rigged it humped upward.  Sure enough, when the bait was jerked, the pull on the line would cause it to rise.  As soon as the line was given slack, the bait would violently dart back toward the bottom.

Rigged with a slight downward bend, which it will have if the back is straight, and as it is intended to be fished, it will regularly break the surface when jerked.

Want to add another action to the equation?  Have the hook point exit the top off center, then Texpose it with the point penetrating at the opposite side of the center.

This will create a slight offset, producing a sideways darting action to the upward or downward tendency of the bait.

To date, my limited experimenting has favored the humped up rigging, and the diagonal placement of business portion of the hook.

Don't allow yourself to be locked into what you believe to be the only best way to rig the fluke type baits.  Have an open mind, and have fun experimenting.

Subtle changes can produce dramatic results.

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

Ever rig it upside down(in back/out belly). It too causes changes.

The size of the hook wire gauge causes different action and sink rate.

The type of rod used can have an impact as well and of course how hard or soft you twitch it with said rod.

The completely random unpredictable nature of these baits is what can make them deadly.

[Fishing Rhino]

Ever rig it upside down(in back/out belly). It too causes changes.

The size of the hook wire gauge causes different action and sink rate.

The type of rod used can have an impact as well and of course how hard or soft you twitch it with said rod.

The completely random unpredictable nature of these baits is what can make them deadly.

I had not thought of upside down rigging.  Another goody to try.

Tell you what I have been doing lately.  I've got several packages of the small *** flukes, three and a half or four inches long.

I wacky rig a senko type worm, then nose hook the fluke.  On the retrieve, it looks like the fluke is chasing the senko, even though the senko is larger.

I've done the same, using a three inch senko type as the chaser, but the root beer colored *** fluke works better.

[EdKras]

Wacky rig the fluke.  Put the hook in the side and have it come out the top.  It makes a good followup bait to a top water.  

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

Then theres the double fluke rig except this time using a mag fluke chasing the tiny fluke jr  Not saying it is the must do technique but it is a lot of fun and looks really cool in the water.

[Big Mike in Fl]

rig it backwards, with the hook point running into the nose, it almost jerks like a wacky rig, but after the jerk it'll dive backwards, great for swimming under  matted weeds.

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

rig it backwards, with the hook point running into the nose, it almost jerks like a wacky rig, but after the jerk it'll dive backwards, great for swimming under matted weeds.

I've rigged it that way and put a 1/32oz screw weight on the nose a few times.Looks and acts cool but haven't used it enough times to know whether it is something I want to pursue. Choices choices.......

[iceintheveins]

I almost always rig a fluke with the hook in the belly slit with a 3/0 EWG gammy for the 5" super fluke or similiar sized jerkbaits.

[FishDontLikeMe1301600221]

Ever rig it upside down(in back/out belly). It too causes changes.

The size of the hook wire gauge causes different action and sink rate.

The type of rod used can have an impact as well and of course how hard or soft you twitch it with said rod.

The completely random unpredictable nature of these baits is what can make them deadly.

I had not thought of upside down rigging. Another goody to try.

Tell you what I have been doing lately. I've got several packages of the small *** flukes, three and a half or four inches long.

I wacky rig a senko type worm, then nose hook the fluke. On the retrieve, it looks like the fluke is chasing the senko, even though the senko is larger.

I've done the same, using a three inch senko type as the chaser, but the root beer colored *** fluke works better.

thanks rhino gonna have to try this one,,i also just ordered me some of them scrounger heads (long bill) im gonna try some flukes on these.

[Fishing Rhino]

Here's the simple way to make it dive when it gets slack line after being jerked upward.

Rig it weedless, and Texpose the hook tip.  Then pull the tail end down on the curve of the hook.  It creates the upward bow needed to make it dive.

The further you bend it, the more violent the dive.  It's a quick and easy adjustment.  It holds pretty well until it gets struck by a fish, which tends to move it around on the bend.

Even then, all you have to do is "reset" it where you had it before the next cast.

It will dive and dart through the thickest coontail, rarely getting hung up.  When it does, it's usually the tag end of the knot which grabs a strand of vegetation.

This occurs less than once every twenty casts.  If you find it catching the vegetation frequently, trim the tag end shorter, or use a tiny drop of super glue, and bond the tag end to the line, eliminating the hang.