Fluke Fishing in the fall isn't a "Fluke"
- Neil Ferris
- Sep 12, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 13, 2019
For years I had heard of the Fluke, but rarely used it. I thought it was just another soft plastic that you fished on your Texas and Senko Rigs to change up your presentation from a worm or other soft plastic. In the last several years I suddenly realized it was so much more than that. While it is very effective being fished that way, it can be used in several other ways as well. As I started to experiment with the Fluke, I quickly realized why it is used in different ways and why it is so versatile. The Fluke catches fish. Not only catches them, it drives fish absolutely crazy.
The design of the Fluke is one of the things I like the most. The body style and tail perfectly impersonates a minnow or other bait fish that bass primarily feed on. This is one of the reasons why I think it has become so versatile. At certain times of the year when the bass are super active, or you pull up on a spot where the bass are feeding on bait, the Fluke is definitely a weapon you want to have ready. Besides catching fish, it also catches really good quality fish. A few days ago I had right around an hour to go fish. I decided to bring my Fluke along, because with the cooler temperatures that we had been having in Illinois, I thought maybe the bass would be a little more active than they had been all summer. I was hoping to maybe catch a couple more cruising around actively hunting. I have been waiting for the fall bite all summer. I fished for about 45 minutes that day, and caught 4 fish on 9 hits. I know..... bad hookup ratio.... but, my excitement got the best of me that day. The 4 fish that I caught though, all would have been keepers in a tournament. The bass were absolutely demolishing the Fluke that day. The weather since has gotten very hot again and the bass have moved back into that summer pattern, but I now can't wait for the fall bite. When the fall hits, and those bass start moving and hunting again, you are going to want to have this bait tied on. Trust me.
Like we talked about at the beginning, people use the Fluke for many different things when fishing for bass. My dad has always used it as a Texas Rig or Senko Rig bait. He'll normally tie it on when he wants to change up what the fish are looking at. He doesn't use it very often, but I have seen him pull it out and get a couple fish on it. As I was growing up, this was the same way that I would use it. Mainly because I didn't know it could be used other ways, but also because I was still learning a lot of the fundamentals like casting, using a bait caster, hook sets, and all the important things young fisherman need to learn. When I reached my teen years, I didn't even own a Fluke. I would only use stick worm time baits like the YUM Dinger and Yamamoto Senko. I did a ton of Senko Fishing in these years of my life. At this time I was just starting to learn just how valuable every bait could be. A few years later, I had Flukes back in my tackle box, but was only using them as a change up to my Senkos. Then fast forward to today, when I have a tackle box filled with nothing but Flukes and a rod that always has one on. A year or two ago, I really started using Flukes as a soft plastic jerkbait. I would use it in the spring when you see a lot of guys fishing jerkbaits. But, as time went on I kept using it in different seasons. The fish kept biting and quickly realized I was on to something.
Last fall I used a Fluke a lot during the fall bite and had pretty good results. I had a lot of bites and strikes, but not a lot of success landing the fish. I knew I would need to keep tweaking and adjusting until I got my set up to where it was catching these aggressive bass. I did more research and this year decided to switch to an Extra Wide Gap hook and started letting the barb of the hook sit on top of the bait and let it go all the way through. The picture below is how I rig it when using it as a jerkbait. I do prefer EWG hooks, but if you let the barb all the way through, a normal hook like this works well too.
One of the reasons I prefer an EWG hook is, that the flat part of the hook sits beautifully on the top of the fluke. If I am fishing it on a Texas Rig or Senko Rig though, I will hook it so that the hook is not exposed. That allows me to get this into some thicker cover and grass. But, this set up in the fall, fishing it like a jerkbait, is one of the best way to get those aggressive fish to strike.
In the fall fish can sense that winter is coming. As the water temperature falls, those summer bass move away from their summer cover and start to actively hunt before it gets too cold to hunt like that. It's always a nice change of pace after the tough summer months when you sometimes have to beg the fish to strike. I think the Fluke works well at this time of year, because like we said earlier, it does a great job of mimicking bait fish. I normally use a mix of long smooth pulls and quick twitches in my retrieval. The long smooth pulls makes it look like the Fluke is swimming around, but I always make sure I give a little pause between each pull. The sinking action of a weightless Fluke is absolutely amazing. The bait just slowly falls with a lot of side to side action and subtle movements. A lot of times the bass will hit it on the fall, just like a senko or other finesse fishing styles. If you see a fish miss it on the fall or feel one strike but it misses, just give it a couple quick twitches. What this does is make the Fluke look like it has reacted to the hit, but it also keeps the Fluke in the area that the bass missed it and lets it come back and get it. Sometimes instead of mixing these two styles, I'll just twitch the Fluke back. Both of these techniques are the best ways I have found to get those fish. When you're on the water, pay attention to the bait fish. If you see a school in the water, or see some bass blowing up on a school throw your Fluke so that it will pass through there. A great thing with the Fluke being weightless is that it doesn't make a big splash or sound when you cast it. It's very subtle, which is huge for casting into those schools without spooking the bait and the bass.
There are a few other uses for Flukes, but another one of the ways I find that I like using it best is in the spring. In the spring I use chatterbaits and spinnerbaits about 95% of the time after the thaw until we start to move to that prespawn bite. As I'm fishing with these two baits, I try to pay attention to the food the bass are eating. I'll keep my eye on the water and try to see if I can see any bait fish, or I'll check the bass' mouth and see if he has a meal left. If I ever see them eating large shad early in the year, the Fluke becomes a great spinnerbait or chatterbait trailer. It makes that bait have a bigger profile and can't help you get an absolute monster early in the year. I've always said that bass are giving us clues to what they want, we just have to pay attention to those clues. That is one small adjustment that can help you hook a big bass early in the year.
Just like most baits on the market, the Spook comes in many different colors. It can be overwhelming when you are looking at this list of colors to try and figure out what color to get. We've talked about that in other blog posts. The number one piece of advice I tell people when it comes to color is to go look at what the bass are eating in your body of water. When I fish a Fluke I want it to look like the bait fish where I'm fishing. You can get them to bite different colors, but I've always found the closer to the real thing, especially when trying to match the bait, it is important to get as close to their color as you can. Here in Illinois where I fish, there is a lot of silver/light colored bait fish. So, I primarily use the White Pearl color to try and get close to that color. I also use Baby Bass, Smokin Shad, and Bluegill Flash. I use all of these at different times. The Baby Bass works well after the Spawn, Smokin Shad is a good change up to the White Pearl, and Bluegill is great when fishing the Bluegill beds. I have tried lots of others colors, but these three are the ones that work where I'm at and match the food the bass are eating. Next time you go fishing, pay attention to what color the bait is, pick a couple colors you think are close or mimic it the best and go from there. You may not get the color down the first time, but when you figure the color out and get it right, you will absolutely love the results. Stick with it, and you will absolutely love the outcome.
Below I will attach a link to Zoom Bait's website and a couple places where you can purchase the Fluke. Check them out and share our post! We are here to share the information that we have learned with the fishing world. There are lots of videos on YouTube about Fluke fishing, check those out too. Like I've said before, you will not regret trying out this amazing bait, Fish on everybody!
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