Stone on the Swimmin’ Super Fluke

Zoom Baits pro-staffer Marty Stone of North Carolina has tried different swimbaits since their popularity increased the last few years, but he’s especially excited about the new Zoom Swimmin’ Super Fluke due to its design.

“This is a pretty incredible bait,” Stone said of the latest addition to Zoom’s stable. “I think a lot of anglers on the East Coast are scared of swimbaits, if nothing else for the price point. But these will be under $5 a bag, not for just one bait, and they’re as simple to rig as possible.

“Two things really excite me about the Swimmin’ Super Fluke. One is the action, because with the keel-style design of the bait it has a really nice side-to-side roll. It doesn’t completely go over but has a good roll. Second, the taper of the section leading to the tail gives it an incredible thump.”

The Swimmin’ Super Fluke is 5 inches long with the familiar Zoom Fluke body outfitted with a paddle-style thumper tail. It comes in Watermelon Seed, White Pearl, Watermelon Red, Albino, Smokin Shad, Houdini and White Ice.

Stone said the new bait will work “wherever there is a swimbait bite.” The Swimmin’ Super Fluke has a soft texture perfect for rigging with an exposed hook for weedless applications or with your favorite swimbait hook in a weedless setup.

“The plastic’s soft, it will throw well, it’s easy to rig and it’s as simple as winding it back in,” Stone said. “My favorite way to rig it is with the JWill Swimbait Head from Buckeye Lures in the quarter-ounce size. That’s for fishing with an exposed hook, and if I want it weedless then I’ll use a 5/0 or 6/0 Daiichi Butt-Dragger hook with the belly weight.”

Stone fishes the Swimmin’ Super Fluke with 15- or 17-pound Vicious fluorocarbon with a simple Palomar knot. He believes that’s a good range of line size for being able to set the hook on a long cast, if necessary, but without harming the action by using a heavier line size.

Two things he looks for are good water clarity of at least 12-18 inches and a swimbait with a good, flexible body.

“As far as any plastic swimbait goes, I believe it has maybe the best thump,” Stone said. “If you hold a soft plastic swimbait horizontally by the head and the tail bends down naturally then it should work pretty well. If it doesn’t chances are it won’t work as well. With a swimming tail like this it needs the flexibility to move in the water.”

Stone has tried all the colors to see what they look like, but favors Watermelon Red as a good all-around color that can work in any part of the country.