Fluke on Jerkbaits

[buddha162]

I've been playing around with this off and on for a few seasons, things finally came together as my freshwater jerkbait experience (and collection!) grew and I started to understand what depth control is all about fishing a suspending diver from shore.

Here's the first video with over 10 keepers (18" and over) with the best 3 going 17lbs. Definitely a day I'll be chasing for a long time. I knew once my smallmouth/largemouth bass were on beds this year I'd be devoted to hardbait fluking for a few weeks!

 

[Leprechaun]

Hi Roger - thank you for uploading this super-interesting video. Amazing results. Can you say how deep the water is where you did this fishing? I ask because you said that you were using jerkbaits with more or less zero-buoyancy, so the working depth become important while presenting to bottom-hugging fish. Of course fluke will come off the bottom to hit a bait, but they at least have to at least see it to hit it.

 

[DamnFish]

I had a similar experience.

Caught a keeper on the backside of Jones inlet on a chicken scratch bomber. Sure surprised me when I reeled it in

 

[movetheboat]

That was awesome!!! thank you!!

 

[buddha162]

Hi Roger - thank you for uploading this super-interesting video. Amazing results. Can you say how deep the water is where you did this fishing? I ask because you said that you were using jerkbaits with more or less zero-buoyancy, so the working depth become important while presenting to bottom-hugging fish. Of course fluke will come off the bottom to hit a bait, but they at least have to at least see it to hit it.

Hi Lep!

The 2 jerkbaits I used in this video were the Jackall Rerange 110 and the Duo Realis 120SP - both of them run about 5-6ft on 10 - 12lb fluoro, the 120SP maybe a hair deeper. At the end of my cast we're in about 13.5ft at high tide, and that first 6lber ate the 120SP near the end of my cast...before the bait even dove to its maximum depth. So a rough estimate...that fish came up more than 7 or 8ft to eat the jerkbait!

I had exceptional water clarity and full sunlight that day, and the fish were obviously super aggressive. Another trip (editing the video now) I had to use deeper running jerkbaits to get the same results. It's definitely something I'm playing with and as much as the errant bluefish bite-off hurts, I have a pretty deep collection of jerkbaits to throw into this experiment.

In terms of buoyancy, in freshwater on a boat/kayak I want my jerkbaits to perfectly suspend, and sometimes sink super slowly. But from shore I want them to have a slow float rate to work effectively casting out into deep water and retrieving into shallow. Happily, a bait that I tune to perfectly suspend in 40-50F freshwater, tends to become a slow floater in warmish saltwater, so I didn't have to tweak my already tweaked baits that much for fluke. I think the super slow float also trigger bites, as half of them came on the pause while the bait is floating away from them...and in my mind forcing them to make a decision to eat or let it go.

Anyway, the experiment continues!

 

[HighHook4Hire]

Excellent experimentation and video! Thanks for pushing the limits.

 

[PaulF150]

Such a sick video that was an incredible learning experience

 

[george]

@buddha162 Great to see you again! That was quite a learning experience. Looks perfect for Smithtown Bay fluking. I can't wait to try!

 

[buddha162]

@buddha162 Great to see you again! That was quite a learning experience. Looks perfect for Smithtown Bay fluking. I can't wait to try!

Thanks George! Hope all is well...I think the clear waters of Smithtown Bay will be perfect!

Just uploaded p2 - needed a slightly deeper diver that day. If you're only going to pick up a couple jerkbaits to try, the Jackall Rerange 110 and Rerange 110 MR are the ones to get.

 

[Leprechaun]

Another insightful video. Thank you for posting it Buddha!

 

[george]

As a fluke nut, I am so intrigued this video. They are crashing that thing! I've caught them many different ways in the past but I never even considered a jerk bait!

How would you attack it from a boat? Would you cast toward the shore or parallel to it? I'm thinking I need to go from deep to shallow? I've been getting them on bucktails right off of the beach so I know they're inside right now.

As soon as I get the chance I'll report back.

 

[buddha162]

How would you attack it from a boat? Would you cast toward the shore or parallel to it? I'm thinking I need to go from deep to shallow? I've been getting them on bucktails right off of the beach so I know they're inside right now.

It should be even better from a boat/kayak - definitely stay in deep and cast shallow, or paralleling/45 degreeing a break/dropoff, or on flats...that way your jerkbaits' diving angle matches the slope of the bottom and you should stay in the strike zone a lot longer than working it from shore. You can also play with the suspension - keep it dead suspending or even slow sinking from a boat, as opposed to slow floating like I'm forced to do when fishing from shore.

I would experiment once you locate a pod of fish with gulp...once you know they're there you can spend some quality time seeing if they'll eat the jerkbait!

 

[george]

I can't wait until tomorrow. I just used the old "I'm not feeling well" or what I call the covid fear and called off dinner plans. I'm going to find some fluke.