While bucktailing has risen to the top as the preferred fluke fishing tactic lately, there is a time when bucktailing won’t be effective, mainly when the winds start blowing, the drift picks up big time, and you cannot hold bottom anymore.

That’s the time to switch up your fluke tactics to adapt to the swift fishing conditions. First off, if the drift is over a knot, you may want to deploy a wind sock to slow up the speed. Next, its time to employ swift drift rigs that are designed to hold bottom and flutter effectively even when moving at a fast pace. My main fluke drift rig consists of a braid friendly fishfinder slide clip on the running line, then a small red bead slid on, to which as 130-pound Spro barrel swivel is tied on, then a 24 to 30-inch piece of 30-pound Seaguar or Yo-Zuri TopKnot fluorocarbon leader to which a tandem two hook sliding snell rig is tied with size 3/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hooks.

This rig is designed to fish long strip baits. Fluke belly works great here for a strip bait, but go big with a 7 to 10-inch slice of the white side or ribbon alone, or put a white strip on first, then sandwich it, topping it with an equal size brown strip to present a realistic image of a small fluke or fluttering baitfish. Bluefish, sea robin and mackerel strips will also work for long baits. When drifting, allow the sinker to always maintain touch with the bottom, letting out line as you drift to insure you are on bottom. Doormats will hang on the bait many times, and when you feel the first strike, put the reel in freespool and feed it back to him so he completely engulfs the strip bait.

Strip baits will only work properly if you make the proper cut. Any bait you put down must be hydrodynamic and flow through the water, undulating and fluttering as if to mimic a swimming baitfish. Cuts should have a tapered end on both the top and bottom, cut like a long diamond shape. Do not chop off the top part on a straight cut as the edges of the corners will catch the water and make the strip spin. Test the waters by dipping the strip in at boatside figure 8 ing the bait and see if it curls up on you or spins, trim off the problem parts until you get a streamlined offering.

Conventional set ups work best here as they allow you to thumb the spool to let line out and drop back to a fish seamlessly. A Shimano Terez 6-6 rated for 20 to 40-pound matched with a Shimano Torium 16, spooled with 50-pound Power Pro braid is my huckleberry when it comes to fast drift fluking.