The Magic Lure

Posted by MNAngler On July - 19 - 2009

In most human pursuits, people are always looking for the Holy Grail: the system to beat the house at the casino, the club that takes strokes off your golf score, or the pill that helps you lose weight without exercise. Fishing is no different. In fishing, the Holy Grail is in the form of a lure or bait.

I used to still fish with a bobber and live bait when I was a kid. Since I picked up fishing again about 9 years ago, I turned into an artificial lure fisherman. I’ve used all kinds of lures since then, but one has stood out to catch fish consistently, no matter what the conditions. If fish are nearby (and sometimes finding the fish can be the challenge), they usually strike. I’ve caught bass (both smallmouth and largemouth), walleye, northern, and muskie all on this lure. If you’ve read a few of my stories, you have probably already figured out which lure it is.

My magic lure is the Zoom Super Fluke

superfluke-bubblegum

[Disclaimer: I am not employed by, nor sponsored by Zoom Baits in any manner or form. I am, however, open to offers… 🙂 ]

The Zoom Super Fluke is a soft plastic lure that looks like a fish (as you can see above). But it’s magic is in the way it moves in the water.

The way you fish it is by casting it into the target area and letting it drop to the bottom. Many times a fish will strike that first drop (that’s how I landed my big walleye). If a fish doesn’t hit right away, let it drop to the bottom and wait a second or two. Then twitch it a couple of times. If you still don’t get a hit, start the retrieve, twitching randomly as it comes back. The effect is that it looks like a wounded yearling, darting erratically. Every so often, let the fluke drop back to the floor. Usually, if a fish sees it, the opportunistic instinct kicks in and it will strike even if it’s not hungry, usually on the drop.

I was first introduced to the white pearl color and like that color as a “color for all occasions.” It’s rare that I don’t get a hit no matter what the weather conditions. However, I was recently told that bubble gum (shown above) can get even more hits. I’ve only used bubble gum (men don’t buy “pink”) a few times and haven’t seen it produce, but I’m interested to try it out some more. I’m also thinking of expanding into some other colors. People swear by watermelon for other soft baits and the baby bass color looks really intriguing.

If you do some research on the Zoom fluke, you’ll notice that there are a few different sizes. I like the super fluke because it has been the biggest fluke on the market. Bigger lure = bigger fish. But just last month, Zoom also recently came out with the Zoom Mag Super Fluke. It’s 7″ long vs. the 5 1/4″ long super fluke. I can’t wait to get my hands on some of those try it out to attract bigger fish.

As with most soft baits, the super fluke doesn’t come with a hook. I was taught to rig it Texas style with a Gamakatsu Offset Worm Shank EWG, size 4/0 hook, sans the weight. What’s nice about this set up is that it is weedless. It can cut through thick weeds and hop over logs and other cover.

The trick, though, with weedless rigging, is that you have to wait to feel the weight of the fish before setting the hook. Because the hook isn’t exposed, you have to let the fish expose it before you can set it. In teaching others about the super fluke, this is the hardest thing they have to get used to. Many fish have been missed (including by me) because they were too quick on the draw to set the hook. If you use the technique above, at some point, you’ll feel some resistance in the line. The retrieve won’t feel “normal.” When that happens, tighten the line slowly until you feel the fish’s weight, and set the hook as hard as you can. Then the fun begins.

One could argue that the super fluke is my magic lure because I use it so much. That could be true, but I’ve never seen a lure catch such a wide range of fish. When I cast it out and get that little tug, one of life’s great surprises is what will be on the other end when I get it to the boat.

9 Responses to “The Magic Lure”

  1. […] was asked recently by a friend how I rig my Magic Lure, the Zoom super fluke. I sent my friend some pictures and thought I would use them here to […]

  2. […] more on why it’s my favorite lure in my post, “The Magic Lure.” And learn how I rig it in my post “Rigging The Magic […]

  3. I’ll have to try the zoom super fluke sometime. BTW, Thanks for commenting on my blog.

  4. […] you’ve read any of my posts from last year, you know that my lure of choice is a Zoom super fluke. You can usually tell when a fish hits it and then you wait to feel the weight of the fish before […]

  5. […] been criticized over the years for being one dimensional because I fish with a Zoom super fluke 90% of the time. But why wouldn’t I? I can consistently catch fish on it. I know how to fish […]

  6. […] with multiple hooks when we got to the other side of the bay, I put on a Texas rigged white pearl super fluke for her. I told her to cast in a particular spot where I knew there was a hole deeper than its […]

  7. […] for us to drop lures into. The jig and pig was pulling up too many weeds, so I went back to my magic lure, but in white. A few casts in and I pulled in my first fish of the […]

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