Fluke fishing in the winter
In the winter when it sometimes seem tough to find a bait that a bass will hit when it's cold and nasty, I often turn to fishing what is a traditional summer bait; fishing a fluke. I know it seems hard to believe but there are several ways to fish a fluke in the winter that will catch good fish, and many times it's the only way to put some good numbers in the boat.
The first way I rig a fluke is to Texas rig it with and 1/8 oz sinker. The key here is to let the fluke float down to fishing depth with that back and forth movement; if you weight it to heavy you won't get the movement needed to make the bait move properly. You also have to fish it with patience, it will take some time to drop to the 10 to 12 foot or more bottoms and the movement of the bait working its way thru suspending fish can be the difference maker. With it weighted lightly, and the fact that many times in the winter because of heavy rains they are pulling water, the light weight just allows the bait to move and creep as it works its way to the bottom. Lastly continue to twitch the bait when it does get to the bottom, as the erratic movement from a twitch motion on the bottom can be a deadly as if it was weightless on top.
Next is to rig a fluke on a Carolina rig, with a good 24 inch leader the bottom movement is extremely similar to the top water movement with no weight. With a sweeping type retrieve a Carolina rigged fluke is just great for the winter bite. Just imagine a fluke darting and dropping thru 20 ft. deep stumps off a deep point on the edge of the river channel. The tantalizing movement is extremely deadly in deep water as it is in shallow water. In fact I have seen times when I would take a traditional lizard work it off the bottom Carolina style for hours and not get a bite, change to a fluke and immediately start catching fish in the cold winter water.
Fluke is very impressive bait; you just need to be creative with it to find new ways to catch fish.
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
Call: 256 759 2270
Captain Mike Gerry