Pearl, baby bass, and baitfish are my favorite three colors.

On 11/4/2018 at 2:29 PM, burrows said:

Care to explain your reasoning  behind your opinion? I’ve never used them personally. I use the original zoom super fluke and have used caffeine shads which are totally different than flukes imo. 

The Yamamoto D Shad’s are probably my 2nd choice behind Strike King Caffeine Shad.the action on the D Shad is really good they just aren’t very durable. I too fish mostly Shad colors, white, Chrome is deadly, black and gold ( believe it’s called something bream) works great in Florida and watermelon red. The caffeine Shad is heavier so casts better and has a bulbous tail so it falls like a senko. If my clients are struggling I put one on for them as you can’t fish it wrong. Chartreuse is another great color. I fish them on a 4/0 EWG or round bend. Hook up % better on round bend but I get more use with EWG. I fish on a 7’2” MHF Expride with 40lb braid to a 6’ flouro or mono leader depending on fall rate mono for more topwater action. The deadly rod sweep and pause is also great way to fish flukes. ZMan jerk shadz are another great option. Good information on this thread

Zoom Super Flukes in Albino, pearl white are what I use 90% of the time. If you have current or need them to go deeper use an Owner 3/32 twist lock hook.

Allen

I fish flukes quite a bit. I primarily use the zoom super fluke. Most of the time colors are albino, watermelon, red, baby bass, Junebug, and chartreuse.

I use a 3/0 or 4/0 gamakatsu round band worm hook. I usually use a loop knot to give it better action.

If your tail is not straight, you’ll get line twist, and the fluke won’t work right. I keep my tails straight by keeping them in a 3600 box just for flukes. The ones that are bent, I lay them in the package straight as I can and leave the package on the dash in the hot sun. That straightens them out and they work just fine.

I usually use a rod tip down twitch. 2-3 twitches then a 1-2 second pause for a medium retrieve. Constant twitches for a fast retrieve. Or in cold water 1-2 twitches with a 3-5 second pause.

I would use a larger hook if I wanted a little more weight to get the lower down quicker. I will occasionally use a weighted hook.

I will fish a fluke just about anywhere. Often fit them in heavy cover, or a lot of people would fish frogs. They are great for pressured fish.

I really got away from fishin flukes in freshwater, but I started throwing them in the late 90s for stripers and weakfish and never stopped. If I had to pick 1 bait to catch everything and anything in SW , Gulp Jerk Shads would be an easy decision.

Ive become a big fan of the Duo Versa Shad as well. The action is awesome and they hold up really well. The 3" Versa Shads knock em dead in the fall and winter.

On 10/29/2018 at 8:06 PM, OkobojiEagle said:

I'm partial to the Caffeine Shad... I use a pearl bait fish color and fish different retrieves rather than different colors.

 

oe

*I’ll second the Strike King Caffeine Shad . While the Zoom Super Fluke is the historic choice it can be a bit challenging to impart the right action and cadence with the Zoom Super Fluke - from slow , steady twitches to burning it on the surface erratically as fast as you can reel . A simpler choice would be the 4” or 5” Caffiene Shad paired with a VMC 3/0 or 4/0 size Drop Dead 3/32nd oz weighted hook . You can then cast it out and just let the Caffiene Shad lazily glide and spiral down to the bottom , let it rest several seconds , reel up a few feet then let it glide back down to the bottom , let it rest a several seconds again - if no bass takers then reel back in and repeat casting the set up to another likely area. Most bass will strike such a set up on the fall so be watching your line for any sudden movement . As for colors in the Caffiene Shad I like Pearl , KVD Magic , Smokey Shad , Baby Bass and Watermelon Red .

Salty Super Fluke on a 3/0 EWG hook is a good starting point.

As mentioned, the D-Shad is excellent, but more geared to open water, and not so good around brush/rocks/structures (Shellcrackers will nip at the tails and tear them to pieces also).

Don’t forget the original Slug-go as an alternative either.

I use the Super Fluke , Texas rigged with 3/0-4/0 hook, Colors I have are Albino or Pearl, Chartreuse, Green Pumpkin and Baby Bass. Also do an internet search on 5 ways to rig a fluke. There are tons of information on the internet about using the fluke.