Prosperine To Lead Mine And Fluke Fishing

[Goggle-Eyed]

I am planning a float from Prosperine to Lead Mine (lower access) next weekend. Just wondering if anyone has made this float recently. I have floated from a little above Blue Springs to upper Lead Mine access and the river was slightly choked in a few areas. I am wondering what it is like from Prosperine to Blue Springs and what it is like from the lead mine upper to lead mine lower access if anyone has floated those stretches recently. I will be in a 17 Lowe Paddle jon. Gonna be camping on the river so I will have a boat full of gear!

I am also intersted in "fluke" fishing on the river. I have tried a few times and had very little luck. What size and colors are you guys using? Are you twitching them back at the top of the water column or are you letting them sink and working them slowly?

Thanks for any and all information

[eric1978]

One of my staple summertime baits is the fluke. I mostly use the 4" size, unweighted and T-Rigged with a 2/0 EWG. I don't use them for patrolling open water, but mostly for skipping under logs or undercut banks, or in otherwise snag-filled cover.

Much of the time the fish will hit the fluke as soon as it touches the water or shortly after, and after a few twitches without a strike, you can pretty much reel it in and cast again. I don't find that fish will often hit the bait more than halfway through your retrieve, but it happens ocassionally. Play with the speed of your twitches and jerks, and the fish will tell you what they want. I find a lot of the time in summer, they like a lot of fast, frantic twitches, which tie their stupid brains into knots and they just have to hit the thing.

I like chartreuse, pearl, and AR shiner colors in clear to semi-clear water.

Make sure you rig your bait perfectly straight to avoid line twist and poor action. If your fluke is jumping up out of the water on your twitches, you most likely have it rigged crooked. Keeping your rod tip down helps keep the bait from breaking the surface...but sometimes the fish like that, though, so again, let them tell you what they want.

Also make sure you are using light enough line. I find that using anything greater than 6# test is a detriment to the action of the bait. I prefer 4/15 Power Pro on a light spinning outfit for flukes, both because it allows for better action, and the braid has enough power to penetrate the plastic. Be prepared to go through a lot of them...after a fish or two they're shredded...good thing they're pretty cheap.

[FishinCricket]

Eric, did you just suggest 4lb test? lol

[eric1978]

Eric, did you just suggest 4lb test? lol

No Cricket, I didn't. It's 15# test with 4# diameter...nice try, though.

[FishinCricket]

No Cricket, I didn't. It's 15# test with 4# diameter...nice try, though.

Quit Rollin your eyes at me! Act like I'm a fool or something...

Please explain that (4# that's really 15#?) to this ignert hillbilly..?

[eric1978]

Quit Rollin your eyes at me! Act like I'm a fool or something...

Please explain that (4# that's really 15#?) to this ignert hillbilly..?

Because of the incredible strength of braided line, they can make higher pound test in smaller diameters than mono, fluoro, or copoly...hence 4/15 or 6/20, for example, means 4# diameter with 15# strength, 6# diameter with 20# strength, and so on.

I fell in love with braid when I first started using it, but I'm finding that it has some drawbacks, so I'm in the process of transitioning to using braid only for plastics on spinning gear.

[riverrat]

Like Eric, the fluke is one of my favorite smallmouth baits, but I prefer the 5" one. For me it runs truer and is easier to hook straight. I use a 4/0 or 5/0 EWG worm hook on 8lb fluorocarbon line. I think the line helps the fluke sink- which is what I'm after, a slow sink. My favorite method in the summer is to dead stick the fluke. Let it slowly sink in moderate current with some depth- you have to keep in contact with the bait without imparting any action. The hardest part for me is getting a good hookset- I use a medium heavy rod. Maybe if I used braid the hookset would be better.

[fishinwrench]

One of the keys to better hookups on flukes and Senko type baits is using a "low sweep to the side" type hookset. Not sure why it works, but you'll improve your catch rate considerably by setting the hook that way.

[eric1978]

One of the keys to better hookups on flukes and Senko type baits is using a "low sweep to the side" type hookset. Not sure why it works, but you'll improve your catch rate considerably by setting the hook that way.

I agree, especially when using braid, and I also try to use that type of hook-set when using multiple-treble baits like cranks, hard jerkbaits and topwaters, although my inclination is towards the over-the-top-fall-backwards-out-of-your-seat-Bill Dance-hook-sets because that was the popular style when I was learning to fish...You'd see it in all the shows and in "Bassin" magazine ...tough habit to break. When using circle hooks with Senkos, you definitely don't need a hard hook-set.

[Goggle-Eyed]

Thanks for all the information. I will dedicate some time to the flukes next weekend. I run 4/15 on my soft platic rod so i should be good to go. Just need to gain a little confidence in the bait...

thanks again, Joe