Field Guide
Fluke / Donkey Rig
Soft jerkbait system — weightless, weighted, finesse, and the twin-fluke Donkey Rig.
Confidence
Gear
Rod
Cashion ICON Ned Rig Spinning — 7'0" Medium / Fast (primary)
Reel
Shimano Sedona 2500
Line
15 lb Sufix 832 Neon Lime braid → 10–15 ft of 8–10 lb Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon (FG knot)
60-Second Refresher
When to Throw
Good Water
Shad and baitfish present, schooling bass, spring through fall, calm to light wind, clear-to-stained water, fish near the surface, 60–80°F.
Bad Water
Water under 50°F, bass deep below 12 ft, heavy vegetation, strong current, muddy water.
Bait Selection
Primary · Finesse · Premium
Zoom Salty Super Fluke 5.25" — Fluke Jr. when you go finesse
Run the Salty Super Fluke as the primary. Drop to the Fluke Jr. on the Hitch Hiker for pressured or finicky fish. Sub the Deps Sakamata Shad when you want a premium baitfish profile around clearer water.
Zoom Salty Super Fluke 5.25"
Green Pumpkin
Primary — shad / baitfish profile
All-around walk-the-dog
Zoom Salty Super Fluke 5.25"
White / Pearl
Clear water · shad match
Visibility bait
Zoom Salty Super Fluke 5.25"
Albino / Smoky Shad
Overcast · stained water
Low-light bait
Zoom Salty Super Fluke 5.25"
Watermelon Pearl
Clear water · sunny
Natural
Zoom Salty Super Fluke 5.25"
Baby Bass
Clear water · natural
Bass forage
Zoom Salty Super Fluke 5.25"
Chartreuse Shad
Dirty / stained water
High-visibility
Zoom Super Fluke Jr. 4"
White Pearl
Finesse · smaller profile · Hitch Hiker rig
Finicky / pressured
Deps Sakamata Shad 5"
Silver Shad
Premium Japanese baitfish profile
Alternate clear-water choice
Three Rigging Methods
Weightless · Weighted · Hitch Hiker
Match the rig to the depth
Method 1: Owner TwistLock Open Gap 5/0 — spring keeper pinned to nose for 0–3 ft walk-the-dog and skipping. Method 2: Owner Weighted TwistLock 5/0 + 1/8 oz, or wrap lead wire on a standard TwistLock for 4–10 ft. Method 3: VMC Hitch Hiker into the nose of the Fluke Jr., attached to a size 1 drop-shot hook for the finesse twitch.
Method 1 — Weightless
Owner TwistLock Open Gap 5/0
0–3 ft · walk-the-dog · skip docks
Better hook penetration than standard EWG
Method 2 — Weighted
Owner Weighted TwistLock CPS 5/0 · 1/8 oz
4–10 ft · erratic shimmy fall · long pulls
Or wrap lead wire on the shank
Lead Wire
6th Sense Treble Wire 1.0 Spool
Custom weighting on the Method 2 hook shank
Tune the fall rate by wraps
Method 3 — Hitch Hiker (Finesse)
VMC Hitch Hiker + Size 1 Drop-Shot Hook
Fluke Jr. · spinning gear · pressured fish
Nose secured — won't tear after strikes
Retrieve Modes
Walk · Twitch / Pause · Long Pull · Free Fall · Skip & Flutter
Match the retrieve to the rig and the cover. Walk-the-dog the weightless across flats and grass. Skip & flutter under docks. Long-pull the weighted rig in 4–10 ft. Twitch the Hitch Hiker like a dying baitfish.
Walk the Dog
Walk
Weightless · active fish · flats / grass
Slack-line twitches, 1–2s pauses
Skip & Flutter
Skip
Under docks and overhangs
Let the bait flutter on slack — most bites on the fall
Long Pull
Pull
Weighted · 4–10 ft
Long rod sweep, reel slack, pause — shimmies as it falls back
Dying Baitfish (Hitch Hiker)
Twitch
Pressured / finicky fish · Fluke Jr.
Short twitches on spinning gear — bait darts and glides
Hookset
Reel-Tight Sweep
All methods
Don't jerk into slack — reel tight, lean back
Donkey Rig (Double Fluke)
Schoolers · Smallmouth · Cover Water Fast
Two flukes on the same line — can catch two bass at once
Cut two 18–24" fluoro leaders. Tie a VMC roller swivel to one end of each with a Palomar. Slide one swivel free on the main line, then Palomar the second swivel to the main line end — the free swivel stops at the knot, the second is fixed. Tie 5/0 EWG hooks to each leader end (top fluke 12–24", bottom 8–12"). Texas rig both flukes — lead bait bright/chartreuse to draw, trailer natural to get bit. Load up and follow through on the cast — don't snap it. Once one fish is hooked, slow-reel — the trailing fluke looks like a fleeing baitfish and schoolers will chase and eat it.
Donkey Rig — Layout
Two flukes · two leaders · two swivels
Twin-fluke configuration on baitcasting gear
14 lb fluoro straight — no braid (stretch helps the bite)
Donkey Rig — Erratic Twitch
Erratic Twitch
Schooling / active fish · skim surface
Cover water fast
Donkey Rig — Twitch-Pause
Twitch-Pause
Standard retrieve
All-around producer
Donkey Rig — Slow Reel
Slow Reel
After hookup — get the double
Don't horse the first fish — let the trailer fluke earn another bite
Where to Throw Each
Grass Lines
Weightless parallel retrieve along the edge — spring through fall.
Boat Docks
Skip underneath, let it flutter on the fall.
Open Water / Current Seams
Weighted rig 4–10 ft — erratic shimmy fall draws reaction strikes.
Wood / Laydowns
Skip and pause, twitch in place, shad imitator.
Shallow Flats / Points
Weightless walk-the-dog on surface or just sub-surface.
Schoolers / Blowups
Donkey Rig — cast into or past the school, fast erratic retrieve.
Cheat Sheet
Default surface walk
Method 1 weightless, Green Pumpkin or White Pearl, slack-line twitches.
Mid-depth shimmy 4–10 ft
Method 2 weighted TwistLock, long-pull retrieve.
Pressured / finicky
Method 3 Hitch Hiker, Fluke Jr. White Pearl, twitch on spinning gear.
Skipping docks
Method 1, watch the fall — most bites on the flutter.
Schooling fish on surface
Donkey Rig — bright lead + natural trailer, slow-reel after first hookup.
Bites short / pulling bait away
Reel tight before sweeping — don't jerk into slack.