If you want to easily increase your odds of catching more bass you may want to consider having a fluke tied on the end of your line.
Flukes are designed to imitate something that all fisheries have... bait fish.
Regardless of the specific type of bait fish in your fishery, you can find a soft plastic jerkbait with a similar size and color pattern to mimic those of your local honey hole.
This is what makes a fluke such a high percentage bait.
Regardless of the time of year or place within the country, anglers are catching bass using flukes.
Similar to how the fishing world calls a stick worm a Senko, the same can be said for soft plastic jerkbaits being called "flukes".
So when we talk about flukes, we're talking about soft plastic jerkbaits in general and not limiting ourselves to just the Zoom Fluke.
Now, time to check out the 6 reasons on why you should be throwing a fluke!
#1 Amazing Search Bait
A fluke is a lure that can be fished fast to cover a lot of water which makes it a great search bait.
If you're on a new body of water and trying to locate fish start with fishing a fluke.
If a weather front just came through your area and you're not sure if fish have moved shallow, deep, or are possibly hugging structure, throw a fluke.
Just about every fishery has some form of bait fish that bass are feeding on which makes a fluke a great search bait choice when trying to figure out what the bass are doing!
#2 Great for Skipping
It doesn't matter if you are fishing a large lake with a slew of boat docks or a backyard pond with a bunch of overhanging trees, a fluke is a great choice for skipping into those hard to reach places.
Both sides of a fluke's body is relatively flat with rounded edges making it very easy for an angler to skip these lures right up underneath any type of object close to the waters surface.
Since a fluke is mostly fished in a weightless, Texas-rig fashion you don't have to worry about a bunch of snags either which makes it a safer alternative to other known skipping lures such as wacky rigged worms.
#3 Great for Catching a Quick Limit
Fluke fishing is generally associated with catching a quick limit of fish.
Thanks to the versatility of the lure and it's ability to be fished just about anywhere, it naturally attracts bass of all sizes.
The design of the lure makes for an easy, vulnerable meal to bass and allows even larger yearlings to get the entire lure in their mouth.
Thankfully, soft plastic jerkbaits are sold in different sizes bringing us to reason #4...
#4 They Come in Multiple Sizes
As the soft plastic jerkbait market continues to expand, you as an angler have many size and brand options to choose from.
Take the Zoom Super Flukes for example which come in 3 sizes (Jr., Super, and Magnum).
Other companies also sport soft plastic jerkbaits of different sizes so consider your lure size options based on the size of the forage and bass in your fishery and go catch em'!
Once you've caught your fill of fish on a 5 inch fluke maybe consider sizing up to a 7 inch to specifically target larger bass.
#5 Good Choice When Fishing Gets Tough
If it's a tough day on the water think about slowing things down and fishing a fluke.
We've discussed the importance of slowing down your retrieve in previous articles but when the fishing gets tough a slowly fished fluke will help get you those much needed bites.
The greatest feature of a fluke is its ability to present bass with the natural look of a dying bait fish.
On slow days, use this to your advantage by fishing the soft plastic jerkbait with longer than normal pauses between each jerk of the rod tip.
Doing so keeps the lure in the strike zone a little bit longer and gives you a better chance of creating reaction bites by deliberately stopping the fluke for extended periods of time throughout the retrieve before creating another sudden, erratic dash of the lure.
In doing so, you should notice an increase in catch rate.
#6 Multiple Ways to Rig It
It doesn't matter if you favor spinning tackle or baitcasting tackle, a fluke can be rigged and fished on just about any set up.
Some anglers prefer spinning tackle with 20-pound braid mainline and an 8-pound leader whereas others prefer to use heavier baitcasting gear with 12-pound fluorocarbon or even 50-pound braid for those heavy vegetation fisheries.
This is comforting as an angler since having the freedom to fish a lure that doesn't require dedicated gear like other lures on the market (big spoons, large swimbaits, etc.).
Below are 3 different rigging options to get the most out of your fluke fishing.
1. Weightless Texas Rig
For fishing presentation, a favorite among many is a weightless, Texas-rigged fluke.
Contrary to belief, there are a few different ways to tune a weightless, Texas-rigged fluke.
Lure Position in Relation to the Hook
The first is how you run the hook through the lure. Our hook of choice when fishing flukes is a wide gap hook!
All wide gap hooks have a little section between the last bend of the hook shank and the eye of the hook. This is generally where the nose end of a Texas-rigged soft plastic will be once the lure is rigged.
You can change how your fluke fishes by adjusting where the nose of the fluke is in relation with your hook eye.
If you rig the fluke to where the nose of the lure is in-between the eye of the hook and the bend in the hook shank your fluke will sit more flat in the water with a slower fall on the decent.
However, if you're fishing deeper water or want more of a "nose down" presentation you can run the nose of the fluke past the eye to where it comes in actual contact with your line.
Doing this makes the lure a bit more top heavy and allows the bait to fall faster since having shifted the lures weight forward in relation to the hook and causing it to do more of a nose dive in between jerks.
Heavy Duty Hooks for Faster Fall Rate
We talked about this in Summer Jerkbait Fishing as well but another way to increase the fall rate of a fluke is to use a heavy duty wide gap hook.
This is a great way to adjust the presentation, in this case fall rate, without necessarily changing the overall look of the lure.
It seems subtle but the heavier gauge wire of a heavy duty wide gap hook just about doubles the fall rate of the lure.
Not to mention it doesn't have any impact on the erratic movement of the lure that's generated throughout the retrieve!
2. Double Up with a 3 Way Swivel
Double your chances by using a 3 way swivel to fish two flukes at once!
The use of a 3 way swivel to fish two flukes simultaneously is an old trick that few anglers know about but is a way to give bass an extremely enticing presentation.
Essentially you're fishing two weightless, Texas-rigged flukes but the key to really making this set up work is the length of your leaders.
It's very important to have one leader a little bit longer than the other. This allows both lures to be worked throughout the retrieve without running into each other.
A common set up is to run one leader at 3 feet in length and the other at 4 feet.
Also, if the bass are really hitting flukes on the day you're fishing don't be surprised if you double up and catch two fish on the same cast!
3. Use it as a Swim Jig Trailer
There's no doubt that paddle tail and ribbon tail soft plastics make great trailers for swim jigs but if you need something a bit more subtle consider using a fluke.
Using a fluke as a swim jig trailer is a great option when fishing your swim jig around a lot of of cover.
Most of the time the contact made with cover is enough to get a reaction strike out of a bass without needing the additional action of a paddle tail or ribbon tail trailer.
Next time you find yourself around a lot of cover or heavier vegetation consider equipping your jig with a fluke.
A second reason to consider a fluke for a swim jig trailer is to increase the lures fall rate without having to go up in jig head weight.
Ribbon tail and paddle tail trailers create a lot of drag (resistance) on the decent of a swim jig which ultimately slows down the lures fall rate.
This can easily be overcome by equipping your swim jig with a narrow, hydrodynamic fluke trailer.
Time to go catch em'!
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