Let's Talk Flukes

[FlatsNBay]

BassinLou's post got me thinking about flukes.

What is your favorite fluke and favorite color?

I've caught thousands of fish over the years on a Zoom Super Fluke..I always loved that fluke but noticed recently that they jacked the price up on them at over $5 a bag. I've searched for an alternative that was a little cheaper.

I liked Bass Assassin flukes over the years too. They are a little heavier and you can cast them farther but their action isn't as erratic as the Zoom. They are one of the few companies that make a gold pepper shiner (black/gold flake) that perfectly imitates a wild shiner.

I've tried the Yum Breaking Shad fluke and they are thinner and much lighter than the Zoom.

I just bought a bag of the H2OX flukes from Academy which were much cheaper and you get more per bag. I haven't used them yet. They are similar size and shape as the Zoom but differ slightly with subtle ribbing along the body. I'm not sure if the action will be any different.

I tried the Bitters version of a fluke but thought that they were too thin and light for my liking.

Favorite Colors: watermelon for clear water, gold pepper shiner for tanic water, white for during the shad spawn, and bait fish when they are schooling on minnows. Those are all the colors that I need!

[Pat Dilling]

I still like the Zoom Super Fluke, most often in pearl, and seasonally in Baby Bass.  I followed tips from Mike Iconelli.  I throw them on a spinning rod with 15# braid tied to a nickel crane style swivel, then 6-8 inches of flourocarbon leader.  Usually 12# test.  That helps the fluke sink a little and also imitates the fluke chasing something.  I use a 3/0 EWG hook and thread a #6 treble hook on as a stinger, if the cover allows.  I put the treble on with the single hook up so I can stick it into the tail of the fluke.  It is amazingly weedless that way and that treble has caught alot of fish for me.

[njpaulc]

I know it's not the "same" bait but I prefer the 4.5 inch Lunker City Sluggo in smoke pepper shad

[FlatsNBay]

NJpaul, I used to love fishing a Slugo. That's what got me started on that technique. Much more action than a traditional fluke but lighter. I remember when Charlie's Worms came out with their imitation called the Chug O. Killers!

[big g]

I throw a zoom fluke a lot.  I use a 1/32 bullet weight and Texas rig with a thin wire #3 WGH, this keeps it  weedless, and gives it a slow fall through the water column, but still allows it to jerk right and left when I snap the rod in a walking motion.  Too much weight kills the action.  It's good for peacock as long as you keep it moving.

  For bass I let it settle on the bottom and snap up and settle back to the bottom like a dying bait fish.  Slow is key here, with long pauses.
 Also throw it into weeds and just shake it a little and the pull it slowly, then repeat the shake and sit.  I found the light bullet weight 1/32 help protect the nose of fluke from pulling down the shaft of the hook in the weeds.    Watermelon red is my fav color for south Florida by far!

[FlatsNBay]

Those are interesting ways to fish it. I'll have to give them a try.

[Capt. BassinLou]

I mainly throw Zoom flukes or CPF lures Shad Jerks.

[Hobious]

very little luck on flukes. 

all my buds fish them on ball heads, so it just a jig to me at that point.  like swimming a sassy shad back in the day. 

the snaggiest lure I have ever tried.

I have fished a weightless fluke-like SKINNY DIPPER.  just cast out and burning it in with some success. 

[J.W.]

I have fished a weightless fluke-like SKINNY DIPPER.  just cast out and burning it in with some success. 

Weightless flukes are a fish catcher around here. One of my "panic baits."

[BASSCATLILDAVE]

My best color is a white pearl.

[FlatsNBay]

I just tried the H2OX Flukes from Academy. They worked great and held up for multiple fish. They are $3.99 a bag before any discounts and come with 2 more in the bag than Zoom. I think I paid about $3.50 for them. I'd buy them again.