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the rear treble is at the very back of the bait and this helps to hook more fish that slap at the bait. Everything on this bait was built to get the correct action, and the balance, joint placement, curves and grooves on the head all serve a purpose to get the lure to swim correctly and allow anglers to fish it both fast and slow.”
The bait is available in two sizes, a 125 and a 178. Both models are available in both sinking, and floating versions and the Glide Fluke is available in eight colors.
EAST COAST APPROACH
With no trout stockings or kokanee present, Murphy and other anglers in the Southeast turn their focus to bass feeding on blueback herring and big gizzard shad. Instead of just fishing a glide fluke with the aim at getting the standard “S” swimming movement,
Murphy uses a hybrid approach that includes fishing the lure like a glide bait, jerkbait and fluke style lure. Murphy typically fishes the floating version early in the year.
“I like it in the back of pockets and coves and generally in calm, shallow water,” said Murphy. “I use a heavy fluorocarbon to get it to slowly sink or work it right on the surface like a wakebait.”
The sinking version is what he uses most of the year and will fish it on traditional hotspots like points.
“Since it is sinking, you can burn it pretty quickly,” he stated. “I tend to mix up my retrieve quite a bit during a cast because that is how shad and herring act. It is not the same as how trout look underwater. A ‘jerk/jerk/pause’ retrieve subsurface with changes in retrieve speed is one of the best ways to fish it.”
Murphy has also found success with the Glide Fluke for
smallmouth in New York. Utilizing the same quick retrieve style, he was able to fool big smallies keyed on yellow perch.
WEST COAST APPROACH
Josh Parris has built a reputation as a tip tournament angler with a knack at catching big bass in Northern California, and the ima Glide Fluke has become one of his favorite baits to use.
“I started using it right when it came out and has become a lure that I always have ready year-round,” Parris stated.
Michael Murphy
Winter 2019
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