A handy new swimbait I’ve used some this winter and spring has been the Zoom Boot Tail Fluke. It’s a simple design but it’s turned out to be a very versatile lure for a lot of different applications. And these type swimbaits are becoming a mainstay among tournament anglers looking to catch a limit of bass on highly pressured fish that won’t react to a crankbait or a spinnerbait. Here are a few of the things I think anglers will find of interest about the Zoom Boot Tail Fluke.
The 5-inch profile is a staple for bass fishing
The thin 5-inch profile mimics a lot of baitfish around the country very well from shad to blueback herring to various shore minnows. The thin profile coupled with the good color combinations Zoom offers in the Boot Tail Fluke give it a well rounded appeal on a lot of waters.
It can be fished a variety of ways
I like that the swimbait has produce already this year in a variety of fishing presentations. I’ve used it on a a standard swimbait head fishing out deep. I’ve used it on a weighted swimbait hook like the new Trokar Swim Blade hook. And, I’ve used it as a unique swim jig trailer. I’ve seen in recent years where giving a swim jig a longer profile has proven beneficial and I do it a lot when I fish deeper on rocky bottoms. The Boot Tail Fluke looks awesome in all three applications and kicks well at slow speeds and fast speeds alike. I think it would also do really well on an umbrella rig but I haven’t thrown one much to test that out yet. But the fact you can reel it so slow and still get a good swim out of it would make it ideal for that rig.
The tails kick with the slightest pressure and at super slow speeds
The paddle tail and thin leg section gives the Boot Tail Fluke a nice subtle kick and shimmy at slow and fast speeds alike. It’s a very unobtrusive offering that looks very natural in clear water. It doesn’t put out the thump that say a Zoom Swimmer does, but it will also kick and give you a better action at really slow or really fast speeds too. Reeling swimbaits fast up near the surface is an often overlooked strategy by anglers and one that this bait should be well suited for.
The Zoom formulation of plastic is some of the best in fishing
The Zoom Boot Tail Fluke is patterned off the original Zoom Fluke with a grooved back and tapering belly section that gives the bait a very natural profile. You can still jerk this swimbait around and fish it like a jerkbait or go to a straight reel retrieve. The grooved back is nice for laying EWG style hooks and keeping the hooks out of trouble while you fish it around grass and wood cover.
I love it on a weighted EWG hook
I really like it on the weighted EWG hook and the new ones with small spinners underneath. It gives you a subtle flash and a subtle wiggle and vibration to fish the Boot Tail Fluke in a lot of situations. It can be like a finesse spinnerbait in clearer or more pressured water. I plan to play around a lot more with it on this rig fishing deep in brush piles and skipping it around docks.
One bass that fell for it on a deep point in the early prespawn
I managed to catch some fish that were staging on points off the current the last couple of months with an oversized head. But I think I prefer it for more shallow applications. It is nice that I can reel it super slow on the bottom and still keep a real natural swimming action, but it seems like out deep, I have a lot more success with a bit more thump in the tail.
Another fish that fell for the Boot Tail Fluke on a swim jig
I do really love it already though on a swim jig. I caught a nice one a week or so ago on the Lunkerhunt Skirted Swim Jig with the Zoom Boot Tail Fluke as the trailer. You could trim it down if you wanted a more compact profile, but I’ve just seen where that longer profile really produces with a swim jig. We had a week or so of high water and I was able to get a nice one on it swimming it down a little deeper and really slowly through the cover with a lighter head.
I really like the Zoom Boot Tail Fluke. You can find it on Tacklewarehouse.com in a few colors. You should be able to get it at most stores that carry Zoom products.
