My wife certainly won't talk with me about flukes :)

At the time I put it on a 5/0 BKK Permalock - didn't have any hook up issues; it seemed to give enough to bite. May play more with TwistLocks when my lakes are liquid.

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?

Those hooks look way too big. Am I wrong? Not calling you out, just trying to learn.

For large flukes I’m a fan of Zoom magnums. I typically use a 5/0 or 6/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook. Don’t seem to have issues with hookups.

If the magnum flukes tends to get tangled in the pads & weeds too much, I’ll downsize to a super fluke with a 5/0 EWG superline hook. 99.9% of the time I’m fishing all my flukes weightless.

On 1/22/2026 at 7:57 PM, woolleyfooley said:

Those hooks look way too big. Am I wrong? Not calling you out, just trying to learn.

I don't think they are too large. They are normal sizes that I use 4's and 5's. WDP just said he sometimes uses a 6.

The largemouth bass can easily get them in their mouths, even smaller bass have no problem with this size hook.

Give them a try. I have been really happy with the results of the VMC drop dead weighted hooks.

Before I use them I put them on the rod building bench and use some epoxy to close the gap on the spring snap. Then I have less trouble with them on the water.

21 hours ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

I don't think they are too large. They are normal sizes that I use 4's and 5's. WDP just said he sometimes uses a 6.

The largemouth bass can easily get them in their mouths, even smaller bass have no problem with this size hook.

Give them a try. I have been really happy with the results of the VMC drop dead weighted hooks.

Before I use them I put them on the rod building bench and use some epoxy to close the gap on the spring snap. Then I have less trouble with them on the water.

Ok, thanks!

On 1/12/2026 at 3:28 PM, Bass Rutten said:

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.

1/16 3/0 or 4/0 for caffeine shad?

@Bandersnatch I'm about 98.5% sure it's the 3/0