I've been trying to really focus on flukes this year. I started fishing them 2 years ago when I got back into bass fishing. Zoom super flukes to be exact.

 

The only way I've fished them, and is to have my rod tip low and give the line a 6"-12" jerk, causing the fluke to move through the water in a walk the dog kind of motion. I usually give it a jerk about ever second. Sometimes 2 per second, sometimes a 2 second pause, but basically the same. I slack the line after the jerk so it has a good action.

 

I've had some pretty decent success this way, enough that I'm starting to have confidence in it.

 

Today at a private pond, I was getting nothing on a spinnerbait, and after only a few casts I lost confidence in it and grabbed the fluke. Almost immediately I got a hit on it.

 

I want to learn everything there is to know about flukes!

Following because I too want to know all about flukes. 

Flukes are really hard to do wrong.  They're like a floating worm meets a vision 110 is about the long and short of it and you can't really fish them in a way that won't get fish to bite.

I use 3 fluke style baits. 

1. Zoom Super Fluke, slow sink.

2. SK Caffeine Shad, faster sink (must have more salt).

3. Sluggo, slow sink.

You can adjust the sink rate by using a weighted hook.  If a jerkbait presentation is needed in an area that is too brushy for a jerkbait a weighted hook on a fluke works.  You can't get them to suspend, they will just keep sinking, but they will come through brush better than a jerkbait with treble hooks.

When fishing them shallow I like a pink or chartreuse bait that I can see and hi vis line as many times the bite is detected by the bait disappearing or the line jerking.  Push your rod back at the bait after a jerk and keep your eyes glued to the line.

Good luck with this lure!

It's getting to be that time around here. I like white or any color that I can see . Just cast it and let it sink until it's out of sight and twitch it and repeat. 

They also fish well on a Scrounger head especially on gravel points.

My favorite fluke bite of the year is in the fall when the bass start to pretend to be stripers for a month or so and you can pretty much burn a fluke as fast as you possibly can and kill it and some bass is gonna smoke it 😂 

 

My favorite way to fish them is in site like a sub surface spook 😉☝🏼 

 

When fishing a fluke like a subsurface topwater I fish it on straight braid and the appropriate sized offset lighter wire hook of your choice and (here's the free juice for ya) I bury the hook eye when I rig the soft plastic.  Burying the hook eye really lets it glide and stay up in the column and is very very optimum for topwater fluking.

 

When I want to run it deeper more like a jerkbait I will expose the hook eye from the front of the fluke which makes it fall faster and stay lower.

 

Took me years to figure that out!  😂😂😂😂😉😉😉😉 

 

If fish are nipping your fluke add a treble hook to the shank of the main hook so it dangles under the belly.  

 

Gosh there goes all the juice.

 

😂😂😂😂

I fish my flukes weightless... kinda... I tie on a swivel and give the fluke short about 16 inch to two foot leader. Then I texas rig the fluke on a 4/0 offset worm hook. Some people use 5 some use 3 but 4 seems to be the sweet spot for me. The swivel leader will give the fluke just a little weight so it won't come to the surface and hop(although you can still make it do that if you want) I fish a herring lake so the more erratic retrieve the better. I start with a twitch twitch pause and then go from there. You can twitch 1, 2, or 3 times between pauses. I usually keep the fluke closer to the surface and fish it like a submerged walking bait. Always give the fish a second before you set the hook because it is going to hit it like a topwater. approach from the bottom and turn once it hits. You wanna give the fish time to turn and get the hook in its mouth. A fluke can also be used as a trailer on a myriad of setups. Carolina rig, on a buzzbait, texas rigged with a weight, bladed jig, spinnerbait. A fluke can be applied almost anywhere in almost any situation. I use nothing but zoom salty super flukes for my fluke fishing and I use a fluke 90% of the year.

Everyone has pretty much covered it. But I’ll add my 2 cents. I like a white or green pumpkin  fluke. I fish them weightless. Usually on braid. It’s either a very fast subsurface retrieve almost walking the dog. Or a super slow dead sticking retrieve. Pop,pop,pop. With 5- 30 seconds  between pops. Depends on the time of year. 

9 hours ago, Bazoo said:

I've been trying to really focus on flukes this year. I started fishing them 2 years ago when I got back into bass fishing. Zoom super flukes to be exact.

 

The only way I've fished them, and is to have my rod tip low and give the line a 6"-12" jerk, causing the fluke to move through the water in a walk the dog kind of motion. I usually give it a jerk about ever second. Sometimes 2 per second, sometimes a 2 second pause, but basically the same. I slack the line after the jerk so it has a good action.

 

I've had some pretty decent success this way, enough that I'm starting to have confidence in it.

 

Today at a private pond, I was getting nothing on a spinnerbait, and after only a few casts I lost confidence in it and grabbed the fluke. Almost immediately I got a hit on it.

 

I want to learn everything there is to know about flukes!

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/bass-fishing/how-to/how-to-rig-a-double-fluke-rig.html

 

Also search the internet alot of good info on super flukes. 

When I fish them I nose hook them with a small hook so they float.  I use short twitches.

 

Glad to see I’m not the only one to peg a sinker in front of a fluke!

Neko weight in the middle of a Zoom Arkansas shiner color. My go to way to fish em now 

I never leave,on a fishing trip without a very good selection of “flukes”.  My choice is the Yamamoto DShad due to its heavier plastic which is the same formula as a Senko.  I fish mine weightless on a 4.0 gamakatsu ewg hook.  I’ve done an extensive write up here on different small rigging differences and how it affects the action.  But the DShad has proven itself time and time again.  One year in Michigan on Lake St Clair I dead sticked a weightless Senko in 10-13 foot of water and saved the trip as that bite was all that worked.  Likewise on St Clair another year, we fished a shallow lake connected to the middle channel and bass plus pike were killing the DShad.  In Florida on Headwaters, the go to bait in the morning was a DShad worked out from the bank.  Largemouth would hammer it.   

Donkey rigging also works.  

I still remember the very first cast I made with a Zoom Super Fluke, probably sometime in the early 1990's.  Color was Albino, texas rigged weightless with a 5/0 red EWG hook, 6# line.  When it hit the water I watched a big Smallmouth slowly rise and inhale it;  I've been a fan ever since.  It also skips very, very well on spinning gear.

2 hours ago, bowhunter63 said:

Neko weight in the middle of a Zoom Arkansas shiner color. My go to way to fish em now 

Thank you for that tip!

I picked up some winged zoom super flukes yesterday. I'm gonna give them a whack next time out. I've heard alot about them E.G. sakamata shads so I want to see what all the hype is about.

Lots of good information, don't think this got mentioned yet though. 

 

Be very picky about how you rig it. Make sure your hook point is coming out of the middle of the fluke and/or the eye of the hook is centered in the bait. Even slightly cockeyed rigging results in "bad" action and reduces bites. At least that's been my experience.

 

Last year I fished the fluke pretty much exclusively to really learn it, and it was eye opening how much even slight variances in rigging effected things.

 

Other tip, not exactly a deep secret, but maybe not obvious. When you t-rig them you can, and totally should, skip them into low hanging trees and lay down situations. I usually let it dead stick a bit when I do that. A lot of people seem to really only talk about skipping them with docks.

6 hours ago, Glenn said:

 

Thanks Glenn

 

In the video, @11:00, he appears to be straight reeling a fluke, as if it was a spinnerbait.

 

Does anyone else ever use a straight retrieve with a fluke?

The Zoom Fluke Stick Jr. was the best kept secret down here on the southern herring lakes, but after Paul Marks won the Elite Series event on Hartwell last week, there ain't a pack to be found. He was throwing Natural Shad...which is HIS CUSTOM COLOR and hard to find.

I have always thrown White Pearl Hologram. 

Rig it texas rigged weightless with a 4/0 or 5/0 round bend hook and twitch it around. 

It's a game changer!

 

It doesn't have to be a Fluke Stick. Any stick bait will work. The original Yamamoto Senko was NEVER designed to be a wacky rig. It was meant to be a subsurface soft plastic twitch bait.Zoom put their forked Fluke tail on their Zlinky to give it better action and life like appeal. And d**n if it ain't the shiz on the southern herring lakes.

 

Thank me later!

 

First lure I caught a bass on and still one of my favorites to this day. I personally like a medium heavy fast action spinning rod for a fluke rod and currently have a Dobyns Sierra with an Ultegra reel. As far as lures go I'd echo what @IYAOYAS said and say that I like a bit of weight with a Zoom Super Fluke so in my case I like to use a 4/0 Gamakatsu Superline spring lock hook with a 1/16oz weight. This adds some weight, makes it easier to cast, and gives it a bit of a tube / spiral action and works well when bass are more active. You can also swap to a 4.3 Keitech with this same setup if you want to cover water a little faster. Sexy shad is a great color to start with for both lures.

 

If you want a slower fall then I'm with @TOXIC and really like the Yamamoto DShad on a weightless 4/0 hook. This one is great when you are throwing it under docks or just want a slower presentation that acts more like a Senko. Big Bite baits also makes a good one similar to the DShad...I don't like their packaging as much but they do have one color that I prefer more when they are feeding on bluegill and I want to use a weightless hook.

 

I've tried a lot of other brands but these are the ones I'd recommend. Also have a pack of OSP DoLive lures on the way but haven't used those yet so can't say whether or not I'd recommend using them.

 

 The Sakamata shad is another one that people seem to be going crazy about and I've had my eye on, but I've not used it yet and it seems a bit expensive to me. I'll probably end up trying it out at some point anyway but for now my main choices / recommendations would be the original Super Fluke or the DShad. Also looking forward to seeing if the DoLive is any good...

5 hours ago, Bazoo said:

Does anyone else ever use a straight retrieve with a fluke?

 

Yes

-Fish it like a top water- leave hook eye exposed. Sometimes I pause between twitches, sometimes I don’t, sometimes I straight retrieve with the rod too high. 

 

-Fish it like a top water when vegetation is matted- leave hook eye tucked in the bait. Twitch bait or drag on surface 

 

-Fish it deeper (but still shallow)- leave the hook eye tucked in the bait. Experiment with cadence. Twitch twitch twitch, slight pause seems to work best for me. 
 

-some of my favorite flukes are zoom super fluke and the caffeine Shad 

 

-Look up donkey rigging. It’s a pretty cool deal. 
 

good luck 

5 hours ago, Bazoo said:

Thanks Glenn

 

In the video, @11:00, he appears to be straight reeling a fluke, as if it was a spinnerbait.

 

Does anyone else ever use a straight retrieve with a fluke?

Yep. Sometimes they want it straight retrieved (and fast) or they won’t strike. 

Thanks for all the tips and tricks.

 

I've actually fished the donkey rig before (unsuccessfully), but I called it a double fluke rig. I saw a youtube video from a pro showing it, but I don't recall who it was.

I sort of thought it was a gimmicky kind of rig, something only for only a specific situation.