Flukes??

[CMIDD]

Ok, I will be the first to admit, I have never fished with a fluke much. Just never had any luck on them. I normally rig them weightless and work them just beneath the surface, or put a small weight on them to get some depth. Also, I usually just twitch them on the retrieve. Am I doing something wrong, or just have not put the rig in front of the right fish? How do you Fellas fish them?

[snavel]

I too have had problems with them in the past. Everyone including my dad uses them a lot but I'm not doing something right. Any thoughts would be great.

[Jabbo]

It sounds like your fishing them the right way. Mustad makes some weighted hooks (weight in the bend) if you need to get it lower in the water level.
I like toi use an owner 3/0 wide gap hook. My best results are to toss it up in skinny water and let it settle to the bottom. I let it set for a bout 5-10 seconds. If a fish hasn't picked it up by then I twitch it back about 6"-1' at a time letting it rest 4-5 seconds between pauses. Make sure to keep a close eye on your line and watch for movement. You also want to try to stay in contact (feel) with your lure most of the time. When the bass are feeding on shad is obviously the best time but it's always worth a try if nothing else is working.
One more thing.. Try a dark color at night and Hang on!!
Good luck

[bereabasser]

Craig...i like to fish flukes alot when im around smallmouth especially around points with small rock or grass...let it sink out of site then just work it back,jerk jerk pause,jerk jerk pause...i usually only throw them also when its pretty clear water so the fish can see it along ways a way,but for largemouth ive only had real good luck on them in prespawn and spawning periods...but other than that it sounds like your doing everything else right

[stevec]

I usually work them pretty much like a spinnerbait..just where you can barely see them under water..good set of polarized glasses..watch for the flash...90% of my fish come either on the pause..or on the twitch right after the pause....the pause is important...I ve seen guys work them like a topwater...way too fast, which works when the fish are aggressive...but the fish usually arent that aggressive when Im on the lake LOL

[LarryG]

I like to throw them into grass, let them sink, and twitch them out. They can be made as weedless as any bait, as for hooks, a wde gap strong hook in a lot of cases is all theweight you need.Very early in the morning, and just before sunset are my choices for using them.

[thebassman30]

Another thing not mentioned is fishing them on the correct line with the correct hook for the conditions. You can dramatically effect the action/fall with these choices. I find that an EWG 5/0 on 4/10 smoke fireline (specifically the new fireline) works best for many applications. I like making long casts and big moves side to side with the bait. Smallies hate when that thing moves 3' left or right. Another retrieve tip is to let it sink out of site and then rip it up 3-4' till you can just see it.

Schooled up fish love it....especially prespawn when it's cold or post front. I wacky rig at the edge of laydown postspawn with limited success.

I also don't fish anything but the 5" size in the Zoom brand. It seems to quiver more. Good luck friend!
Mark

[Col Forbin]

I like to toss the double fluke on occassion. A couple of swivles, leaders, hooks, and flukes. It looks impressive coming throught the water.

[CMIDD]

Thanks for the replies Fellas. Just wanted to make sure I am on the right track. Its just hard to fish with something I don't have much confidence in. Guess I just need to have a bit more patience.

[DJD]

Try it again next Spring (shallow) and you won't need patience....all you will need is a bandaid for your sore thumb!

[Rangerman]

Most of my success has been prespawn, spawn or post spawn related. Good bait to have in your arsenal.

[bigwormy]

fish a fluke all year myself. works very well year round for me too. catch a lot of keepers.