Soft Plastic Jerkbait (fluke) Tips and Tricks you Need to Know

One of my favorite soft-plastic lures are flukes or soft plastic jerkbaits. They are excellent at imitating baitfish and can be used in a variety of circumstances to catch more bass.

What is a Soft Plastic Jerkbait?

A fluke, also referred to as a soft-plastic jerkbait, is designed to resemble a particular baitfish. Although it resembles a soft-plastic swimbait, a fluke has a straight or flat tail rather than a paddle tail.

A jerkbait works well all year long and may be used to capture fish in any season. Depending on the season and the varied baitfish in a particular area, it can be fished quickly or slowly.

Obee Fishing Co. offers the highest quality Hand Poured jerkbaits on the market.  They feature a belly hook slot, flat tails, and high-quality eyes.  Imitate baitfish better by using Obee 5" Jerkbaits available here.

The Obee 5" Jerkbait is the top fluke currently available. There isn't a jerkbait out there that has a more realistic appearance and unpredictable behavior. It precisely resembles a struggling or dead shad.

The Best Tips for Fishing Soft Plastic Jerkbaits

1. What is the best size for bass fishing?

There are several different sizes of jerkbaits available, including 5-inch, 6-inch, and 7-inch baits. In most circumstances, especially in the winter when the water is cold and bass frequently prefer a smaller meal, I prefer to stick with a 5 or 6-inch fluke.

2. Best overall color

My preferred color for soft plastic jerkbait fishing, particularly in conditions of clear water, is watermelon red flake. Junebug, Smoke Shad, White Ice and White Pearl are some other fantastic color choices!  (Click an image below to see more information about Obee Soft Plastic Jerkbaits)

3. Fish the Cover

Focus on casting jerkbaits close to cover when fishing for bass. Fish over the top of submerged grass, in and around reeds and lily pads, or around other coastal features like boat docks, seawalls, and laydown trees.

4. How to Retrieve a Soft Plastic Jerkbait

A soft-plastic jerkbait is best retrieved in a manner akin to a hard jerkbait. Use a jerk, jerk, pause retrieve and adjust the speed dependent on the bass' activity and the water's temperature.  When the water is cold your retrieve should happen slower

5. What is the proper tackle to fish a Soft Plastic Jerkbait?

Anglers can use spinning or baitcasting equipment to toss soft-plastic flukes. I mix the two a bit.

If you're using a weighted hook with your jerkbait, I recommend rigging it on a 6:4:1 gear ratio baitcasting reel with a pretty sensitive 7' medium action baitcasting rod. I wind that reel with a leader of 10–14 pounds of fluorocarbon and 10-15 pounds of braided line.

I choose a 7' medium action spinning rod with a 6:4:1 gear ratio when utilizing a weightless hook with my jerkbait. The same braided line, which is attached to a 10–12 pound fluorocarbon leader, is used to spool it. I can cast a light lure far farther with the spinning tackle than I could with a baitcasting setup.

6.  The most important tip of them all:  Imitate the baitfish.

Keep in mind that your goal when using a soft-plastic jerkbait is to mimic a baitfish. Try these soft-plastic lures if you spot bass pursuing shad at the surface or have located a school of fish on your graph or depth finder in addition to fishing cover around the shoreline. Their shad-like appearance is perhaps what will make a big fish strike!

Obee Jerkbaits can be fished both deep and shallow.  To fish them near the surface rig the fluke on a weightless wide gap hook.  If you need to go deeper, then use a weighted wide gap hook and fish it the same way as if it were weightless.

How to Rig a Fluke to Catch More and Bigger Fish

My flukes are always Texas-rigged on one of two hooks. I rig the bait weightless on a 3/0 or 4/0 Offset Wide Gap hook when I'm fishing in shallower water or want to keep the bait near the surface.  Available here on Amazon!

But I use a weighted hook if I want the bait to go a little deeper. When you want a fluke to fall faster while maintaining the same action, use the Gamakatsu Weighted Superline Extra Wide Gap hook - available on amazon!

The next time you're out on the water, we hope you can put these strategies to the test and use them to catch more fish!