Fork Tailed Plastics Scoring in Bay

Fin-S fish on a worm hook
with no weight

Zoom fluke on a half
ounce jighead.

I am now fishing exclusively in the Bay.  It is far closer for me, and I believe it is more productive than the oceanfront right now. I have scored big numbers of fish in the last five days from schoolie up to small keepers.  Just about all of those fish which were taken from boat and from shore were caught on fork tailed plastic lures.
I've written many times about how the fan tailed Cocahoe Minnow is the top producer for spring stripers along the oceanfront.  While it works on occasion in the Bay, a fork tailed plastic lure like a Fin-S fish or a Zoom Fluke is a far better choice. While most fishermen know about these lures, few know the many ways to fish them.  I have caught fish this past week using all three methods described below.
Here are the three ways I fish these fork tailed lures:
1. On a jighead- This is how most fishermen use them.  Simply thread the plastic body like a Zoom fluke onto a lightweight (say half ounce) jighead and you are ready to go.  I like to reel in slowly and jerk the rod tip to get the lure to bounce along.  Most of my hits come as the jig is falling back down. My favorite fork tailed lure in this situation is a Zoom fluke in an albino color.
2.  Off a float-Take the same fork tailed lure described above and run it off a wooden egg float via about two to three feet of mono.  This works well when a long cast is needed or when you are casting into the wind. Just reel it in slowly and let the wave action move the lure.
3. On a worm hook with NO weight- This is one of our top ways to catch finicky fish.  In this case we tend to use a larger fork tailed plastic lure like a 5 inch Fin-S fish. Hook it onto one of those curvy wide gap hooks. Cast it and reel slowly with occasional twitches of the rod tip to make the lure dart and swim. If fish are whirling or following, stop reeling. The fish will often take it when it goes motionless.