Was fishing in shallow pads in Florida and figured out a weightless 7 inch assassin shad is a blast. What are your favorite big flukes for fishing shallow with a lot of grass and pad cover ?

Caffeine shad; bombs well on casting gear, skips great, seductive shimmy on the drop. One of my most productive lures when I lived there.

5 hours ago, Bass Rutten said:

Caffeine shad; bombs well on casting gear, skips great, seductive shimmy on the drop. One of my most productive lures when I lived there.

What size ?

5 inch Caffeine Shad on a 4/0 Owner Twistlock LIGHT 3/32 oz.

Don't use a standard EWG or most other hooks. Due to the salt weighted body, it will sag on standard hooks and lose its unique action. The Twistlock with centering spring pulls and keeps the plastic straight. This allows the lure to stay horizontal and with the air bubble in the tail, all you need to do is cast and twitch it very 4-5 seconds... it darts, semi-swims in its own, changes directions, spirals, like a dying bait fish. Cast along weed edges, skip under docks, etc.

I fish primarily as OP is mentioning and have been for decades since I live here, but a 7" is too large for me.

That to me is kind of targeting only larger fish. I target quantity over size because I want numbers of fish, not necessarily the quality size of the fish.

That said, I prefer the Zoom paddle tail swimmin' Flukes at 5.5" down to swimmin' flukes Jr's at 3.5". And I will sometimes purchase 3" paddle tail.

These slightly smaller lures still catch larger bass too.

I prefer the paddle tails because of the extra motion they have over straight tails or forked tails.

Size and shape of the of the lure has become very important as well as the type of rubber used.

I tried the Googan paddle tail flukes and they catch bass, but one fish can destroy the lure. I prefer the Zoom brand because the lure is soft and I can catch numerous fish on one lure even as it begins to tear up, I can rearrange the lure some and keep catching fish with it for a little longer sometimes.

Shape is one of the most important factors to me. I recently watched some guy who came down from up north roll into a lake in central Florida I like to fish a lot and he was doing his video and casting out his fluke and getting bit, but his hookup ratio was really bad.

As he showed the lure setup I could see his lure was as big around as a man's thumb, and the distance between the side of the lure to the shank of the hook was less than a 1/4". So as he tried setting the hook, the hook has to slide through the lure to set into the fish, but his setup did not have any room for the hook to move because it ran into the side of the lure and stopped. So he had great difficulty in hook setting.

I have moved away from the thick bodied, thick tailed lures and really like the shape of the Zoom swimmin' fluke because how the tail thins down where my hook goes through it. When I set the hook, I almost never miss because there is so little rubber at that location that it cannot slow down or bump against the hook shank.

These are some examples of lures that to me are too thick of rubber where hook needs to slide through for hooksets:

Quite often if I use a lure too thick top to bottom vertically, I will turn lure 90 degrees sideways and rig it so hook goes through thinnest amount of rubber. The fish do not care.

Below is an example of fluke that is too thick. It has twice the amount of rubber hook has to slide through to get a good hookset. I avoid these.

I kidded former bass pro John Bitter who makes this lure that I can cut it in half and catch twice as many fish with his lures because of how thick they are right where I don't want thick rubber. In the tail. I often turn his lures sideways because of it. Great lures though.

Even old John Bitter has his custom lures dialed in to same sizes I prefer. His naked swimmers are sold in 3" and 5.5". Florida bass jump all over this size range in greater numbers I do believe.

Hook shape is also important here to help facilitate the hook sliding through the rubber to make better hooksets.

This is one of those techniques I have mastered over the years and sometimes will out fish others who are not familiar with it.

Just a few days ago I showed up on a lake where a couple (husband and wife) were already fishing. They said they had been there awhile and only caught 2 fish. I was there for the last hour of sunlight and my fishing app said the bite was turning on. I carried one rod and one lure and caught 6 and missed others because fish missed lure in cover as it went over them. But if they got it, I generally caught them. They watched me catch one fish after another while they were not catching. Not only lure but technique, timing and where to fish.

They stood on shore and cast open hook swimbaits as far out deep as they could. They never once tried to fish parallel to shore in the grass and cover along the edges. Fish were hiding in it. A lure swims by and I could watch the bass run out and grab it. One after another. 3 or 4 of my fish were caught like that. The others a little deeper around an offshore grass line holding fish. They fished on only open clear water and Florida's January fish just were not happening for them. I was there maybe 45 minutes until sun went down and cleaned their clocks.

I had to show them the lure, the setup, and places and ways they were not fishing like parallel to shore and observe plants sticking out of water off shore indicating vegetation they stayed away from because they were tangling up in it.

I also had them beat as far distance casting. They used short rods that fit into their compact car. 6' rods is what it looked like. I was using a 7'6" MHF spinning rod with 4000FG size Shimano Stradic and 20lb line on and I could cast almost twice as far as they could.

The technique and app timing flat out work. When it says the bite is turning on, it is usually turning on. And when it says its turning off its very accurate. I've used it for years and for me it works. Not saying I don't catch fish in the slump of the off bite, but the app puts me on the water at the best times. It sure did a few days ago.

I also now prefer the VMC drop dead weighted and unweighted hooks. 4 and 5's mostly.

And setups like these. This one is a thicker lure turned 90 degrees sideways so I use the thinnest rubber to rig. This one is not a zoom. It is a Cabellas brand from Bass Pro. Cost about $3 per bag so I tried them out- sideways. Worked fine.

These are the thin tail zoom flukes. Very little rubber to slow, stop or inhibit in any way my hooksets.

This one I added a weight to probably because I did not have the hook I wanted at the time, but I can fish these weightless across the surface and just under it. I can let it drop in to holes in lily pads and eel grass. I can let it sink to bottom and pop it off the bottom like a dying shiner. Bass just can't resist these and they can be used a variety of ways. I caught a 7 pounder a few weeks ago along edges of lily pads on same lure below but not with sliding weight. I used a VMC weighted hook for that bass. Same setup though.

And for the open hook swimbaiters, a quick and easy treble hook added can greatly increase hookup ratio.

I can't tell you how fun it is to go fishing with a new buddy fresh in from up north who comes down to fish with me and he brings a boat load of lures, rods, and reels, and I am watching him switch up to this, that, and some other trying to catch a fish, and I am holding steady using one or two, maybe 3 lures and techniques and able to sometimes catch more fish- not size- just more fish by dialing in a tried and true method the bass flat out love.

Quite often it will be just the weedless paddle tail flukes- two sizes as mentioned, maybe an open hook swimbait, and a rat'l trap rod laying on deck for schoolies. I can switch fast and get hooked up to a schoolie while that other guy is still trying to figure out which rod to grab. Schoolies are often gone before he can cast to them.

I have spent many years honing some simple techniques since 1969 for Florida bass and I just don't need a boat load of stuff.

I like to fish Florida's dishpan lakes, especially in summer, and pull up to the outside of the lily pads, and stay back about 20 feet off the pads in open water and use that 7'6" rod and cast all the way onto shore if I can reach it, and slowly work it back to me through it all. Often bass are jumping out of the water to get at it. And if schoolies blow up behind me, I can just set that rod down with lure still out there and grab my rat'l trap rod or swimbait rod and cast to them in seconds and get a schoolie or two real fast. And cast sideways along edges of lily pads and across the tops of eel grass and the blowups of the bass is awesome.

Most of the time I am fishing in 8 feet of water or less, and quite often 4 feet or less. A few days most of the fish I caught using this technique were in 18 inches of water or less hiding up in the grass right along the shoreline not a foot from dry land. Love watching the wake they darting out for the lure as it passes by.

Nothing I love more than using one rod, one lure and one technique to clean the clocks of forum guys who bring 25 rods, and every lure known to mankind down here to Florida. I swear some of them bring the entire store with them. And put some money on it and dinner as well! Just ask Zak about the white swimbait. I'll never hear the end of that one. Another guy former bass pro Brian ***** came down here with his war eagle spinner and cleaned my clock! It happens. But I like it better when I win using one lure just to mess with them and their 25 rods and boat load of lure choices and every color.

3" to 5.5" for me. More fish in the boat. If you use a 7" then maybe some bigger fish, but also maybe fewer fish in the boat. Definitely a matter of choice on this one.

I don't always win, but we sure love talking smack about it! Fishing is fun, but it is also competition. If I win he's buying the sushi and sake.

I'm taking boat to central Florida today. Warmup happening. Solunar calendar is turning around. Time for some 70 degree bass fishing Tuesday and Wednesday. Loading up now the new music and new albums from Walter Trout, Joe Bonamassa, Blackberry Smoke, Fortune Child, and the long awaited new album from Devon Allman to listen to while fishing.

Here is a video example of a guy from out of town fishing the very same lake I will be on tomorrow afternoon using thick rubber baits. He catches fish no doubt, but he also misses some too. His rubber lure is so fat there is less than a 1/4" of space for lure to move for hooksets and I'd bet he is losing some fish here because of it. This much rubber is just not needed.

I hope a long post like this one can help someone put more fish in the boat. Otherwise, what is the point?

7 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

What size ?

Frydog nailed it. The 5 incher really comes alive with a lightly weighted hook. I have used the owner he recommends and it works great but I have bent some out (yeah yeah user error). I now use the gamakatsu weighted superline spring lock hooks, it's a heavier gauge hook allowing to throw it on heavy or hmh rods. The 1/16oz weighted gammy hook weighs overall the same as the 3/32 owner, the thicker gauge makes up for the lighter belly weight it has. I have also had some luck with the 1/8 weighted gammy hook which drops faster obviously, or can be worked faster at a given depth.

Hmmmm….it’s no surprise, I fish the Yamamoto DShad in Florida every year. This year there’s a new contender I am going to try, the Hinge Minnow which is a bigger DShad with a segmented body.

1 hour ago, TOXIC said:

Hmmmm….it’s no surprise, I fish the Yamamoto DShad in Florida every year. This year there’s a new contender I am going to try, the Hinge Minnow which is a bigger DShad with a segmented body.

Really looking forward to seeing how you do with the hinge!

I'm not in Florida, but it if I were looking to throw big Fluke-style baits, I'd try the Deps Sakamata Heavy Weight Soft Jerkbait (6" and 7") , Big Bite Baits Jerk Minnow 5" and the Hideup Judy Fish Soft Jerkbait 5.2" baits.

If you really want to go big, the 9 inch Sluggo is a great bait. Decently tough but pliable plastic, walks great, and the shape comes through veg well. And you can throw it anywhere on a H rod. I have not used the 12” yet but it’s possible.

I just went through every lure mentioned in this thread to check for availability here in Florida- and price.

Some are readily available at local stores. Some are not.

I clicked on Glenn's choices and his links to them and then looked to see if I could buy any of them locally. 2 could be found at local Bass Pro stores and possibly Academy Sports, but one lure, the Hideup Judy Fish Soft jerkbait is not so easily to be found in Florida- yet, and one of them I could only find in a one off tackle shop in Inverness Florida way out of reach on west coast area.

The HideUp Judy Fish was by far the most expensive lure mentioned in this thread weighing in at a staggering $16.99 for a 4 pack for a price per piece of $4.25 each. And that is NOT including tax and shipping.

I compared it to my latest purchase of the zoom swimming fluke Jr. weighing in at just over .23 cents per lure. And that price includes tax and shipping!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/317416557119

My point would be that living in Florida price and availability are a primary guiding factor for lure choice.

My local tackle store Bitters sells me a bulk bag of their own custom lure the Naked Swimmer for $35 per 100 for a price per piece of around .35 cents each.

https://www.bittersbaitandtackle.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=338

Florida has limited choices these days. We have a few Bass Pro shops scattered across Florida, but the stores most accessible to us is Walmart, Academy Sports, and Dick's with Academy Sports offering the largest selection of lure choices next to Bass Pro. Dick's and Walmart stores have drastically cut back on their fishing tackle selections.

Walmart tends to become a number 1 place for lures simply because there are so many stores and prices are decent. Dick's is overpriced and avoided. Academy Sports isn't the cheapest, but works. Bass Pro stores are best with the most variety and selections, and with good prices on some lures, but try finding a store in your area and you will find you have to drive quite a ways to find one and when I do that I tend to spend about $100 and stock up so I don't have to do it again any time soon.

So even though a thread like this one suggests some good lures to use, prices and availability knocks them right out of the game for some of us here in Florida.

My general price point per piece is .50 cents or less. Anything over .50 cents and its starting to get too expensive for me. I am sure others can maybe afford more, but I am on a retiree budget and have to make every penny count.

So I just did the math on the HideUp Judy fish and to reach the free shipping level I have to purchase 3 packs to make it over $50 threshold. Then add tax. Closing in $54 spent and only 12 lures. Compare to my last zoom purchase of 100 lures for $23.06. If I doubled that order to $46.12 I'd have 200 lures compared to 12 still costing more.

Now let me figure the fish catch count between 12 lures or 200. Not whipping out the calculator on this one, but I think its a safe bet to say 200 is going to out fish 12 every day of the week.

So for me there is dreaming about lures I can't afford and can't find around here, and waking up to my Florida reality of what is readily available at good prices. I'd love to try them all. I'm sure they all catch fish. But... reality checks hit hard.

@FloridaFishinFool if I can’t get it at Bitters, I probably don’t need it.

I’ve known John for almost 40 years now. He knows bass fishing and stocks his store accordingly. He makes a super fluke of his own that’s 7” I think.

10 minutes ago, SC53 said:

@FloridaFishinFool if I can’t get it at Bitters, I probably don’t need it.

I’ve known John for almost 40 years now. He knows bass fishing and stocks his store accordingly.

Same here, but not for 40 years! I got to know John when I worked for a local rod and reel repair shop. He'd come into our shop quite often.

I used to repair his Lews BB reels and some of his old rods. He used only one reel for his entire career. I asked him one day how many of the Lews BB reels did he have and I can't recall if he said close to 200 or 300. His rods and reels are old school for sure.

He does know fishing, but the way he stocks his store is not based around that. I know because I have asked him directly why he does not stock certain products, namely the Zoom swimming fluke Jr paddle tails I look for and I was told to my face they want to sell their custom lures over and above all others, and so slowly over time, they have simply allowed existing stock to sell out and they will not order more to replace a number of products.

When you walk into Bitter's more than 50% of the items in that store now are all their own custom brand.

Next time you are in the store check and see how many different brands of flukes you see in there. You will see Bitters brand and others squeezed out to almost non-existent. This is an issue with me. I want the zoom brand and he leaves me no choice but to go elsewhere for it.

Besides his own custom lures, the one thing John Bitter does that you just don't find anywhere else is his affinity for vintage lures. John over the years buys bulk estates of old dead guys lifetime collection of lures sold off once the old guy kicks the bucket.

So I can't tell you how many times and still do go in there and dig through his vintage used lures at great prices usually a couple of dollars a piece for old Rapala wood lures, and classic vintage lures. Rat'l trap bodies without the hooks for a couple of bucks.

Between John's brand of custom lures and the used vintage stuff, that makes his store worthwhile for sure.

Buying brand new rods and reels at full retail pricing? No way!

Need some live bait? Frozen bait? Bitters is the place for that. Minnows, earthworms, shiners, shrimp, mullet, he has it. Need oddball hooks? He's got it.

Zoom swimming fluke jr paddle tails? Forget about it. Squeezed out of there.

One day a few years back John came into our shop to pick up his rods and reels we had just repaired for him, and all the "in" guys always park in the back of the shop, so Jim did as well. He took his rods and reels out back in the parking lot to try casting them a few times out there. I walked out to my car back there and on my way back in I kidded him about reducing the amount of rubber he used in his naked swimmers.

I kidded him and said "you know John, I could cut your naked swimmers in half and catch twice as many fish!" I think I may have ticked him off on that one, but you know I have never actually tried it. I think I will give it a try. I'll slice them in half vertically right down through the hook gap and make each half identical and give it a whirl maybe this afternoon on Lake Baldwin and see if I can back up my jest.

Every time I walked into Bitters and saw John was not there I'd always ask where's John fishing today? You always get good local fishing info in there.

Sad to say, but now when I go in there and don't see John and ask about him they tell me he had to hang up fishing. Just too old now- like his rods and reels.

Nowadays when I find him in the shop most of the time he is putting new line on customer's reels, but he still has great local fishing information.

His brother Jim has been retired for far longer. He lives too far away now to come to the store any more. The realities of getting old.

This reel or older ones like it were John's choice all through his career and even in retirement he still fished them. I'm trying to imagine his collection of 200 or 300 of these collected over his many long years of fishing. I'd bet most of them were purchased just for parts more than fishing. I think his were simply BB-1's. Don't recall.

I think I'll stop in Bitters today or tomorrow and see how the old guy is doing. My time around John has been less than 20 years.

I really enjoyed when he would come into the rod and reel shop, he knew we took care of him, and he'd take care of us and often bring us bags of lures, some new colors, some new lure prototypes, etc. After he would leave Greg and I would be splitting it all up between us.

Our fisherman customers did the same bringing us fresh caught fish from the east coast. We'd split that up to. The perks of the business. I liked digging into all the abandoned rods and reels and trolling motors the shop would collect up and have to unload from time to time.

John Bitter has definitely been a large towering part of our local fishing community for decades. Sad to see him slowing down and backing out now.

What bitters color and hook?

53 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

What bitters color and hook?

Not sure of your question. Bitters is Bitters bait and tackle in Longwood Florida.

All his colors are on his website.

Zoom magnum super fluke

Yamamoto Zako, not the boot tail

6th sense flush

6th sense panorama

On 1/12/2026 at 9:51 AM, FloridaFishinFool said:

I fish primarily as OP is mentioning and have been for decades since I live here, but a 7" is too large for me.

That to me is kind of targeting only larger fish. I target quantity over size because I want numbers of fish, not necessarily the quality size of the fish.

That said, I prefer the Zoom paddle tail swimmin' Flukes at 5.5" down to swimmin' flukes Jr's at 3.5". And I will sometimes purchase 3" paddle tail.

These slightly smaller lures still catch larger bass too.

I prefer the paddle tails because of the extra motion they have over straight tails or forked tails.

Size and shape of the of the lure has become very important as well as the type of rubber used.

I tried the Googan paddle tail flukes and they catch bass, but one fish can destroy the lure. I prefer the Zoom brand because the lure is soft and I can catch numerous fish on one lure even as it begins to tear up, I can rearrange the lure some and keep catching fish with it for a little longer sometimes.

Shape is one of the most important factors to me. I recently watched some guy who came down from up north roll into a lake in central Florida I like to fish a lot and he was doing his video and casting out his fluke and getting bit, but his hookup ratio was really bad.

As he showed the lure setup I could see his lure was as big around as a man's thumb, and the distance between the side of the lure to the shank of the hook was less than a 1/4". So as he tried setting the hook, the hook has to slide through the lure to set into the fish, but his setup did not have any room for the hook to move because it ran into the side of the lure and stopped. So he had great difficulty in hook setting.

I have moved away from the thick bodied, thick tailed lures and really like the shape of the Zoom swimmin' fluke because how the tail thins down where my hook goes through it. When I set the hook, I almost never miss because there is so little rubber at that location that it cannot slow down or bump against the hook shank.

These are some examples of lures that to me are too thick of rubber where hook needs to slide through for hooksets:

Quite often if I use a lure too thick top to bottom vertically, I will turn lure 90 degrees sideways and rig it so hook goes through thinnest amount of rubber. The fish do not care.

Below is an example of fluke that is too thick. It has twice the amount of rubber hook has to slide through to get a good hookset. I avoid these.

I kidded former bass pro John Bitter who makes this lure that I can cut it in half and catch twice as many fish with his lures because of how thick they are right where I don't want thick rubber. In the tail. I often turn his lures sideways because of it. Great lures though.

Even old John Bitter has his custom lures dialed in to same sizes I prefer. His naked swimmers are sold in 3" and 5.5". Florida bass jump all over this size range in greater numbers I do believe.

Hook shape is also important here to help facilitate the hook sliding through the rubber to make better hooksets.

This is one of those techniques I have mastered over the years and sometimes will out fish others who are not familiar with it.

Just a few days ago I showed up on a lake where a couple (husband and wife) were already fishing. They said they had been there awhile and only caught 2 fish. I was there for the last hour of sunlight and my fishing app said the bite was turning on. I carried one rod and one lure and caught 6 and missed others because fish missed lure in cover as it went over them. But if they got it, I generally caught them. They watched me catch one fish after another while they were not catching. Not only lure but technique, timing and where to fish.

They stood on shore and cast open hook swimbaits as far out deep as they could. They never once tried to fish parallel to shore in the grass and cover along the edges. Fish were hiding in it. A lure swims by and I could watch the bass run out and grab it. One after another. 3 or 4 of my fish were caught like that. The others a little deeper around an offshore grass line holding fish. They fished on only open clear water and Florida's January fish just were not happening for them. I was there maybe 45 minutes until sun went down and cleaned their clocks.

I had to show them the lure, the setup, and places and ways they were not fishing like parallel to shore and observe plants sticking out of water off shore indicating vegetation they stayed away from because they were tangling up in it.

I also had them beat as far distance casting. They used short rods that fit into their compact car. 6' rods is what it looked like. I was using a 7'6" MHF spinning rod with 4000FG size Shimano Stradic and 20lb line on and I could cast almost twice as far as they could.

The technique and app timing flat out work. When it says the bite is turning on, it is usually turning on. And when it says its turning off its very accurate. I've used it for years and for me it works. Not saying I don't catch fish in the slump of the off bite, but the app puts me on the water at the best times. It sure did a few days ago.

I also now prefer the VMC drop dead weighted and unweighted hooks. 4 and 5's mostly.

And setups like these. This one is a thicker lure turned 90 degrees sideways so I use the thinnest rubber to rig. This one is not a zoom. It is a Cabellas brand from Bass Pro. Cost about $3 per bag so I tried them out- sideways. Worked fine.

These are the thin tail zoom flukes. Very little rubber to slow, stop or inhibit in any way my hooksets.

This one I added a weight to probably because I did not have the hook I wanted at the time, but I can fish these weightless across the surface and just under it. I can let it drop in to holes in lily pads and eel grass. I can let it sink to bottom and pop it off the bottom like a dying shiner. Bass just can't resist these and they can be used a variety of ways. I caught a 7 pounder a few weeks ago along edges of lily pads on same lure below but not with sliding weight. I used a VMC weighted hook for that bass. Same setup though.

And for the open hook swimbaiters, a quick and easy treble hook added can greatly increase hookup ratio.

I can't tell you how fun it is to go fishing with a new buddy fresh in from up north who comes down to fish with me and he brings a boat load of lures, rods, and reels, and I am watching him switch up to this, that, and some other trying to catch a fish, and I am holding steady using one or two, maybe 3 lures and techniques and able to sometimes catch more fish- not size- just more fish by dialing in a tried and true method the bass flat out love.

Quite often it will be just the weedless paddle tail flukes- two sizes as mentioned, maybe an open hook swimbait, and a rat'l trap rod laying on deck for schoolies. I can switch fast and get hooked up to a schoolie while that other guy is still trying to figure out which rod to grab. Schoolies are often gone before he can cast to them.

I have spent many years honing some simple techniques since 1969 for Florida bass and I just don't need a boat load of stuff.

I like to fish Florida's dishpan lakes, especially in summer, and pull up to the outside of the lily pads, and stay back about 20 feet off the pads in open water and use that 7'6" rod and cast all the way onto shore if I can reach it, and slowly work it back to me through it all. Often bass are jumping out of the water to get at it. And if schoolies blow up behind me, I can just set that rod down with lure still out there and grab my rat'l trap rod or swimbait rod and cast to them in seconds and get a schoolie or two real fast. And cast sideways along edges of lily pads and across the tops of eel grass and the blowups of the bass is awesome.

Most of the time I am fishing in 8 feet of water or less, and quite often 4 feet or less. A few days most of the fish I caught using this technique were in 18 inches of water or less hiding up in the grass right along the shoreline not a foot from dry land. Love watching the wake they darting out for the lure as it passes by.

Nothing I love more than using one rod, one lure and one technique to clean the clocks of forum guys who bring 25 rods, and every lure known to mankind down here to Florida. I swear some of them bring the entire store with them. And put some money on it and dinner as well! Just ask Zak about the white swimbait. I'll never hear the end of that one. Another guy former bass pro Brian ***** came down here with his war eagle spinner and cleaned my clock! It happens. But I like it better when I win using one lure just to mess with them and their 25 rods and boat load of lure choices and every color.

3" to 5.5" for me. More fish in the boat. If you use a 7" then maybe some bigger fish, but also maybe fewer fish in the boat. Definitely a matter of choice on this one.

I don't always win, but we sure love talking smack about it! Fishing is fun, but it is also competition. If I win he's buying the sushi and sake.

I'm taking boat to central Florida today. Warmup happening. Solunar calendar is turning around. Time for some 70 degree bass fishing Tuesday and Wednesday. Loading up now the new music and new albums from Walter Trout, Joe Bonamassa, Blackberry Smoke, Fortune Child, and the long awaited new album from Devon Allman to listen to while fishing.

Here is a video example of a guy from out of town fishing the very same lake I will be on tomorrow afternoon using thick rubber baits. He catches fish no doubt, but he also misses some too. His rubber lure is so fat there is less than a 1/4" of space for lure to move for hooksets and I'd bet he is losing some fish here because of it. This much rubber is just not needed.

I hope a long post like this one can help someone put more fish in the boat. Otherwise, what is the point?

On 1/12/2026 at 9:51 AM, FloridaFishinFool said:

I fish primarily as OP is mentioning and have been for decades since I live here, but a 7" is too large for me.

That to me is kind of targeting only larger fish. I target quantity over size because I want numbers of fish, not necessarily the quality size of the fish.

That said, I prefer the Zoom paddle tail swimmin' Flukes at 5.5" down to swimmin' flukes Jr's at 3.5". And I will sometimes purchase 3" paddle tail.

These slightly smaller lures still catch larger bass too.

I prefer the paddle tails because of the extra motion they have over straight tails or forked tails.

Size and shape of the of the lure has become very important as well as the type of rubber used.

I tried the Googan paddle tail flukes and they catch bass, but one fish can destroy the lure. I prefer the Zoom brand because the lure is soft and I can catch numerous fish on one lure even as it begins to tear up, I can rearrange the lure some and keep catching fish with it for a little longer sometimes.

Shape is one of the most important factors to me. I recently watched some guy who came down from up north roll into a lake in central Florida I like to fish a lot and he was doing his video and casting out his fluke and getting bit, but his hookup ratio was really bad.

As he showed the lure setup I could see his lure was as big around as a man's thumb, and the distance between the side of the lure to the shank of the hook was less than a 1/4". So as he tried setting the hook, the hook has to slide through the lure to set into the fish, but his setup did not have any room for the hook to move because it ran into the side of the lure and stopped. So he had great difficulty in hook setting.

I have moved away from the thick bodied, thick tailed lures and really like the shape of the Zoom swimmin' fluke because how the tail thins down where my hook goes through it. When I set the hook, I almost never miss because there is so little rubber at that location that it cannot slow down or bump against the hook shank.

These are some examples of lures that to me are too thick of rubber where hook needs to slide through for hooksets:

Quite often if I use a lure too thick top to bottom vertically, I will turn lure 90 degrees sideways and rig it so hook goes through thinnest amount of rubber. The fish do not care.

Below is an example of fluke that is too thick. It has twice the amount of rubber hook has to slide through to get a good hookset. I avoid these.

I kidded former bass pro John Bitter who makes this lure that I can cut it in half and catch twice as many fish with his lures because of how thick they are right where I don't want thick rubber. In the tail. I often turn his lures sideways because of it. Great lures though.

Even old John Bitter has his custom lures dialed in to same sizes I prefer. His naked swimmers are sold in 3" and 5.5". Florida bass jump all over this size range in greater numbers I do believe.

Hook shape is also important here to help facilitate the hook sliding through the rubber to make better hooksets.

This is one of those techniques I have mastered over the years and sometimes will out fish others who are not familiar with it.

Just a few days ago I showed up on a lake where a couple (husband and wife) were already fishing. They said they had been there awhile and only caught 2 fish. I was there for the last hour of sunlight and my fishing app said the bite was turning on. I carried one rod and one lure and caught 6 and missed others because fish missed lure in cover as it went over them. But if they got it, I generally caught them. They watched me catch one fish after another while they were not catching. Not only lure but technique, timing and where to fish.

They stood on shore and cast open hook swimbaits as far out deep as they could. They never once tried to fish parallel to shore in the grass and cover along the edges. Fish were hiding in it. A lure swims by and I could watch the bass run out and grab it. One after another. 3 or 4 of my fish were caught like that. The others a little deeper around an offshore grass line holding fish. They fished on only open clear water and Florida's January fish just were not happening for them. I was there maybe 45 minutes until sun went down and cleaned their clocks.

I had to show them the lure, the setup, and places and ways they were not fishing like parallel to shore and observe plants sticking out of water off shore indicating vegetation they stayed away from because they were tangling up in it.

I also had them beat as far distance casting. They used short rods that fit into their compact car. 6' rods is what it looked like. I was using a 7'6" MHF spinning rod with 4000FG size Shimano Stradic and 20lb line on and I could cast almost twice as far as they could.

The technique and app timing flat out work. When it says the bite is turning on, it is usually turning on. And when it says its turning off its very accurate. I've used it for years and for me it works. Not saying I don't catch fish in the slump of the off bite, but the app puts me on the water at the best times. It sure did a few days ago.

I also now prefer the VMC drop dead weighted and unweighted hooks. 4 and 5's mostly.

And setups like these. This one is a thicker lure turned 90 degrees sideways so I use the thinnest rubber to rig. This one is not a zoom. It is a Cabellas brand from Bass Pro. Cost about $3 per bag so I tried them out- sideways. Worked fine.

These are the thin tail zoom flukes. Very little rubber to slow, stop or inhibit in any way my hooksets.

This one I added a weight to probably because I did not have the hook I wanted at the time, but I can fish these weightless across the surface and just under it. I can let it drop in to holes in lily pads and eel grass. I can let it sink to bottom and pop it off the bottom like a dying shiner. Bass just can't resist these and they can be used a variety of ways. I caught a 7 pounder a few weeks ago along edges of lily pads on same lure below but not with sliding weight. I used a VMC weighted hook for that bass. Same setup though.

And for the open hook swimbaiters, a quick and easy treble hook added can greatly increase hookup ratio.

I can't tell you how fun it is to go fishing with a new buddy fresh in from up north who comes down to fish with me and he brings a boat load of lures, rods, and reels, and I am watching him switch up to this, that, and some other trying to catch a fish, and I am holding steady using one or two, maybe 3 lures and techniques and able to sometimes catch more fish- not size- just more fish by dialing in a tried and true method the bass flat out love.

Quite often it will be just the weedless paddle tail flukes- two sizes as mentioned, maybe an open hook swimbait, and a rat'l trap rod laying on deck for schoolies. I can switch fast and get hooked up to a schoolie while that other guy is still trying to figure out which rod to grab. Schoolies are often gone before he can cast to them.

I have spent many years honing some simple techniques since 1969 for Florida bass and I just don't need a boat load of stuff.

I like to fish Florida's dishpan lakes, especially in summer, and pull up to the outside of the lily pads, and stay back about 20 feet off the pads in open water and use that 7'6" rod and cast all the way onto shore if I can reach it, and slowly work it back to me through it all. Often bass are jumping out of the water to get at it. And if schoolies blow up behind me, I can just set that rod down with lure still out there and grab my rat'l trap rod or swimbait rod and cast to them in seconds and get a schoolie or two real fast. And cast sideways along edges of lily pads and across the tops of eel grass and the blowups of the bass is awesome.

Most of the time I am fishing in 8 feet of water or less, and quite often 4 feet or less. A few days most of the fish I caught using this technique were in 18 inches of water or less hiding up in the grass right along the shoreline not a foot from dry land. Love watching the wake they darting out for the lure as it passes by.

Nothing I love more than using one rod, one lure and one technique to clean the clocks of forum guys who bring 25 rods, and every lure known to mankind down here to Florida. I swear some of them bring the entire store with them. And put some money on it and dinner as well! Just ask Zak about the white swimbait. I'll never hear the end of that one. Another guy former bass pro Brian ***** came down here with his war eagle spinner and cleaned my clock! It happens. But I like it better when I win using one lure just to mess with them and their 25 rods and boat load of lure choices and every color.

3" to 5.5" for me. More fish in the boat. If you use a 7" then maybe some bigger fish, but also maybe fewer fish in the boat. Definitely a matter of choice on this one.

I don't always win, but we sure love talking smack about it! Fishing is fun, but it is also competition. If I win he's buying the sushi and sake.

I'm taking boat to central Florida today. Warmup happening. Solunar calendar is turning around. Time for some 70 degree bass fishing Tuesday and Wednesday. Loading up now the new music and new albums from Walter Trout, Joe Bonamassa, Blackberry Smoke, Fortune Child, and the long awaited new album from Devon Allman to listen to while fishing.

Here is a video example of a guy from out of town fishing the very same lake I will be on tomorrow afternoon using thick rubber baits. He catches fish no doubt, but he also misses some too. His rubber lure is so fat there is less than a 1/4" of space for lure to move for hooksets and I'd bet he is losing some fish here because of it. This much rubber is just not needed.

I hope a long post like this one can help someone put more fish in the boat. Otherwise, what is the point?

So yes on the bitters or is it too thick?

I don’t see the need for a walk in store to buy any bait. The internet is your friend and allows you to find the best prices amongst all retailers. Many times cheaper than walk in stores even with shipping. I understand if you want to patronize local shops but you will normally pay a higher price for limited selection.

On 1/15/2026 at 11:13 PM, Bandersnatch said:

So yes on the bitters or is it too thick?

Its a matter of opinion really. For me yes, they are too thick in the area where hook needs to slide through to make a good hookset.

I prefer zoom and other brands who make shapes that taper down thinning in the area where hook goes through the lure for easier hooksets.

I generally don't worry about having too many colors. I tend to be more concerned about contrast and go with a light colored bait, a medium dark bait, and dark. The fish don't have time to examine in detail the lures when I fish. I don't give them the time to get a good look at it. I want reaction strikes at something that is moving within their range.

I fish mostly clear water, so if bright sunlight I tend to try and blend in some with medium or darker color. As light fades or water gets murky I will brighten it up some making it more visible.

I try and follow that old saying match the hatch, so some of the medium contrast colors are in the silvery shad to golden shiner colors. That reddish pumpkinseed color works for a darker one. White ice for a light color.

One thing a lot of Bitter's customers like are his colors.

John Bitter has definitely figured out that bright colors attracts more fishermen! He does have a great selection of colors no doubt! I think they catch more fishermen than fish!

@FloridaFishinFool sounds like you worked at Kels when you mentioned Greg’s name. Took my stuff in there for repairs for decades. First when Kel was still there and then when his daughter and Greg were there. Haven’t been in years though.

And yes John does push his own soft baits but who can blame him.

It’s all the other baits I was referring to, hard baits, terminal tackle and the other stuff I was talking about that he carries.

Another fun fact, I drew his brother Jim in my second Redman tournament in 1987 on the Harris chain. He caught an 8.5# bass on a devils horse on his first spot and proceeded to end up winning the tournament. But it was his home lake.

The Zoom Fluke, super or otherwise has caught more fish in this state than any “fluke style” bait ever made.

Rig it nose up, down or straight..

Weightless, nosed or nailed it will do what YOU MAKE IT DO.

Everyone makes a knock off for a reason.

Mike

I am a never-to-recover fluke addict. I got a bunch of Judy Fish on discount - just IMO, they hold added scent quite well and the durability is very good. I had the same one on for several days and numerous catches - never had a single issue with it keeping on the hook. In fact, it's still on the same hook in a tackle tray waiting for spring :) It also has an air bladder in it that gives it a nice swimming action (as opposed to a solid fluke).

8 hours ago, OHBuckets said:

I am a never-to-recover fluke addict. I got a bunch of Judy Fish on discount - just IMO, they hold added scent quite well and the durability is very good. I had the same one on for several days and numerous catches - never had a single issue with it keeping on the hook. In fact, it's still on the same hook in a tackle tray waiting for spring :) It also has an air bladder in it that gives it a nice swimming action (as opposed to a solid fluke).

Do you find a cheaper way to buy the Judy fish? Price is crazy

I can't remember exactly (maybe Copperstate sale - they move Hideups?). I bought a bag on release and liked it, so it went on my 'wait for a sale' list :) The only one I'd pay store price for now would be the Natural Green Blue color - that color is pretty cool and never in stock anywhere.

Also, if talking about pricey/big flukes (besides the Sakamata HW 6s, which are awesome), I like the DRT VTS 5, but one only gets a few fish on them (super soft; action is amazing). I have the VTS 7 too, but I don't seem to know what to do with them so I just admire them in the bag :)

My PB for 2025 (7+) came on a white DShad that had nicely dulled a bit having been stored with all the other colors in a ziploc (excluding the 'Glowstick' color - that one stays separate :)). TOXIC's DShad box is awesome, but I like what happens when they're all jumbled together :)

1 hour ago, OHBuckets said:

I can't remember exactly (maybe Copperstate sale - they move Hideups?). I bought a bag on release and liked it, so it went on my 'wait for a sale' list :) The only one I'd pay store price for now would be the Natural Green Blue color - that color is pretty cool and never in stock anywhere.

Also, if talking about pricey/big flukes (besides the Sakamata HW 6s, which are awesome), I like the DRT VTS 5, but one only gets a few fish on them (super soft; action is amazing). I have the VTS 7 too, but I don't seem to know what to do with them so I just admire them in the bag :)

My PB for 2025 (7+) came on a white DShad that had nicely dulled a bit having been stored with all the other colors in a ziploc (excluding the 'Glowstick' color - that one stays separate :)). TOXIC's DShad box is awesome, but I like what happens when they're all jumbled together :)

Sounds like I need to talk to you about cool flukes

On 1/18/2026 at 9:45 AM, OHBuckets said:

I am a never-to-recover fluke addict. I got a bunch of Judy Fish on discount - just IMO, they hold added scent quite well and the durability is very good. I had the same one on for several days and numerous catches - never had a single issue with it keeping on the hook. In fact, it's still on the same hook in a tackle tray waiting for spring :) It also has an air bladder in it that gives it a nice swimming action (as opposed to a solid fluke).

What hook were you using ?