Jerkbait Help/ Advice

[N Florida Mike]

I always get a little action from them but never can say Ive done well with them.

If I made myself fish them more, Im sure Id do better. Do they seem to work better on a bright or cloudy day ? Calm or windy ?

[Dens228]

I've had my best success with them in water with decent clarity, clouds or sun hasn't mattered.

[N Florida Mike]

Thanks. Think Im going to go with only my jerkbaits and see what happens. Kind of excited about a new challenge.

I know how they love plastics around here so itll be fun to try something they havent seen much. I plan to rig 2-3 different ones up and alternate until I see what they want.

I'll report back. Will probably go later today or tomorrow.

[NHBull]

I would not hesitate to go with a floating JB and/or add 1 heavier treble to run it just below the  surface

[N Florida Mike]

Well, I tried several jerkbaits for several hours today. I was not skunked, but not by much. I caught these 2 on a small gold rapala, both with a moderate speed retrieve. Tried every kind of retrieve I could think of. No wakes, no blow ups , no misses. Even the fish that bit did not hit it very hard  ( of course their size may have been a factor ) I diligently cleaned all the weeds off after every other cast. Even tried lipless crankbaits with no sucess. At least I did not turn to my plastics like normal.

Think this is driving me to live bait before the end of the week ?

[soflabasser]

On 12/24/2018 at 7:44 PM, N Florida Mike said:

I always get a little action from them but never can say Ive done well with them.

If I made myself fish them more, Im sure Id do better. Do they seem to work better on a bright or cloudy day ? Calm or windy ?

I have caught bass in all the conditions you mentioned but prefer days with low to moderate wind for jerkbait fishing. A good jerk bait to use is a Rapala X Rap. Choose the size and color you feel will work best in the area you fish.

2 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

Well, I tried several jerkbaits for several hours today. I was not skunked, but not by much. I caught these 2 on a small gold rapala, both with a moderate speed retrieve. Tried every kind of retrieve I could think of. No wakes, no blow ups , no misses. Even the fish that bit did not hit it very hard  ( of course their size may have been a factor ) I diligently cleaned all the weeds off after every other cast. Even tried lipless crankbaits with no sucess. At least I did not turn to my plastics like normal.

Think this is driving me to live bait before the end of the week ?

That looks like a good choice. You can get some bigger jerkbaits in that color and try them out for a bigger bite. Keep fishing with jerkbaits until you feel more confident in this lure. They are great lures and have there place and time they do best.

[N Florida Mike]

I was suprised I didnt do better. The lake is full of quality fish, and I thought they would be all over it. It has been colder recently up here though , I had bluebird skys , I had a brisk wind in the more open parts of the lake, and the sheltered areas were full of floating leaves, etc, so it was harder to not have the leaves get caught nearly every cast. Like I said, I fished a variety of baits and presentations, and depths but the fish just werent active. 

[Hook2Jaw]

Was taught to fish jerkbaits as a kid in the rivers with more of a power fishing retrieve.  Jerk jerk, reeling all the while, jerk, and so on.

 

Recently having good success with 1-5 second pauses beginning this fall.  During the jerk, rip, slash, whatever you want to call it, I can feel bites just fine.

 

During the pause, I feel like I'm missing fish with a lot of slack in my line for a true, stationary pause.

 

Recently I've been carefully maintaining my slack with a slow reel/sideways pull to maintain contact when I cannot see my line.  My lure is barely inching forward, almost imperceptibly to me.

 

Is that correct?  It's been working.

[Dwight Hottle]

2 hours ago, Hook2Jaw said:

Was taught to fish jerkbaits as a kid in the rivers with more of a power fishing retrieve.  Jerk jerk, reeling all the while, jerk, and so on.

 

Recently having good success with 1-5 second pauses beginning this fall.  During the jerk, rip, slash, whatever you want to call it, I can feel bites just fine.

 

During the pause, I feel like I'm missing fish with a lot of slack in my line for a true, stationary pause.

 

Recently I've been carefully maintaining my slack with a slow reel/sideways pull to maintain contact when I cannot see my line.  My lure is barely inching forward, almost imperceptibly to me.

 

Is that correct?  It's been working.

There is no wrong way to work a jerk bait. Try what ever you think will work. Just remember your successes & continue to repeat them. 

[Hook2Jaw]

@Dwight Hottle, I seem to recall you talking about Rapala Husky Jerks in multiple threads.  Have you fished the Rapala Down Deep Husky Jerk any?

 

Specifically, I'm wondering if they suspend well, get bit, and how deep they get.  I'm looking for a few baits to round out my deeper jerkbait arsenal and the DHJ12, 4 1/2", 1/2oz, 8-19'(I realize the upper end is trolled) has caught my eye.

 

I can probably touch 35-40 yards with my other half ounce jerkbaits, and more with the wind, on 10# fluoro, if that helps any.

[roadwarrior]

[Hook2Jaw]

Thanks, @roadwarrior, it's nice to know the reindeer can catch snowflakes.

[Dwight Hottle]

1 hour ago, Hook2Jaw said:

@Dwight Hottle, I seem to recall you talking about Rapala Husky Jerks in multiple threads.  Have you fished the Rapala Down Deep Husky Jerk any?

 

Specifically, I'm wondering if they suspend well, get bit, and how deep they get.  I'm looking for a few baits to round out my deeper jerkbait arsenal and the DHJ12, 4 1/2", 1/2oz, 8-19'(I realize the upper end is trolled) has caught my eye.

 

I can probably touch 35-40 yards with my other half ounce jerkbaits, and more with the wind, on 10# fluoro, if that helps any.

 

Yes I have used the HJ14DD husky jerks extensively on lake Erie for smallmouths. I mentioned in another thread that the HJ14DD in glass perch caught at least 30 smallies over 6lbs in my boat. I used then on 10lb braid with a 15lb maxima ultragreen mono leader from 10'-20' long. I drifted with the wind at my stern using my electric trolling motor to steer. I was long lining them behind the boat 100 to 200 feet back. They would touch bottom in 17' to 21' depending on the bait. I also used the HJ12DD a little but mostly the bigger HJ14DD. Early on I used both sizes equally but got more bites on the bigger size which also has 3 trebles instead of two. The HJ12DD would get around 12-15' depth on the same gear. I always used two rods out per man in my boat. One in a rod holder & one held by hand. We would stagger the lines with two out long & two out shorter to keep tangles to a minimum. By drifting with the wind you allow the waves to impart action on all baits. The rod holder baits would sweep forward with every wave then return to limited action. The hand held rods we worked as normal jerk bait rods with twitches, sharp jerks, pauses, sweeps & any other actions we chose to impart. When someone got bit we would bring the other rod closest to it in or leave it out depending on how cooperative the smallie was coming into the boat. I would always stop the trolling motor once bit. Often times the other three rods would get bit while the first fish was coming into the boat. That happen fairly often. 

 

Yes they suspend well, they get bit very well & achieved good depth among my arsenal of deep diving jerk baits. 

[Hook2Jaw]

@Dwight Hottle, thanks, man!  I'll probably add them to the box, then.  I would need a heavier jerkbait rod to try the 14, but that gives me an excuse to build another short stick and stepping up to a MH will let me double up and roll cast some spinnerbaits on it.

 

Now I need to make room for the Rapala Licky Reindeer as well.

[bazzelite19]

You can give the best bait to a poor fisherman and he will get beat by a good angler with the worst bait most times. Just learning how to cast consistently and accurately and how to reel in bass and set the hook with ANY lure goes a long way. Theres no way to build skill without the proper fundamentals . Dont make it to complicated, pick out a x-rap or rogue and just start chunking it. 

[skekoam]

I'm probably the only guy on this site who hasn't caught one with a jerk or crank bait.  I love throwing them though.

[galyonj]

28 minutes ago, skekoam said:

I'm probably the only guy on this site who hasn't caught one with a jerk or crank bait.  I love throwing them though.

If it makes you feel any better, I've never caught on a jerkbait before, either. Haven't been fishing them long, and I'm probably still not doing it right (especially now that the water's cold), but it sure is fun.

[Dangerfield]

Jerkbait is a pike magnet where I fish, especially if you rip em fast. I started fishing them slower with lighter twitches and the smallies love em. Lots of confidence in a rapala ripstop.

[J Francho]

11 hours ago, Dangerfield said:

Jerkbait is a pike magnet where I fish, especially if you rip em fast. I started fishing them slower with lighter twitches and the smallies love em. Lots of confidence in a rapala ripstop.

This has been my experience on several local lakes that have large populations of Esox.  Nothing worse than seeing a huge musky swipe at your $17 Pointer!

 

Slowing down, going subtle is a key. 

[galyonj]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

Slowing down, going subtle is a key. 

I have to ingrain this, because I get so jacked up that I just start yanking on them. Probably scare all the daggum fish away doing it.

[SpinLight]

Most of my 55 years of fishing has been for other species of fish. Fishing for spotted bass mostly now in Lake Martin, a deep rocky lake, and don't have much experience with a jerkbait. What size and model for a couple of jerkbaiit lures to start out with for winter spotted bass now? Thanks for your help.

[roadwarrior]

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Megabass_Ito_Vision_110_Jerkbaits/descpage-MB110.html

 

[galyonj]

So…couple things.

 

Earlier this week I went to a new spot that usually gets a lot of play, thanks to a suggestion from @TnRiver46.

 

After no action for a while, I tied on a 6th Sense Provoke and went real slow with it, and two things happened:

 

1. I got my first ever jerkbait hit.

2. I actually got to fish water that was clear enough to see the investigation/charge/strike.

 

It was rad, and I was so excited that my sinus brain misfired and I couldn't find my phone for a picture WHEN IT WAS SITTING RIGHT BESIDE MY LEG.

 

Then I cast out again and the lure was acting funny, and I realized that the bill broke. So that kinda sucks.

 

Nice bass, though. 3ish pounds and feisty.

[Big Hands]

I haven't read all of the seven pages yet, so forgive me if this has been addressed earlier.

 

I normally don't fish where I can see the fish other than bed fishing, and not usually gin clear either. However, I have been recently fishing where I can often see the bass (not bed fishing) come over to investigate the lure. I recently caught a 7+/- pounder on a Megabass Vission 110 Ito Wakasugi and got to watch the fish charge and crush the bait from about six feet away, which was AWESOME!

 

However, I have also had some fish come up behind baits and just check them out, sometimes for what seems like an eternity. Maybe the fish could see me as I certainly could see them clearly. But wondering if folks have better luck just waiting to see if the fish will strike it, or trying to impart some action to trigger the strike when the fish is literally a few inches away?

[bogfrog]

You seem like a guy who likes to experiment, so you may want to fool around with this some.

   I began experimenting with small "rare earth" magnets a couple years ago on baits with the kidney shape rattle chambers like the vision baits. The objective was to lock the rattles in one position once the bait hit the water. By doing this I was hoping to control the lure to a nose up or nose down position. You're never really sure where the weights are in these. I found that some rattles are highly magnetic while others have practically no magnetism. Most of the water I fish gets pretty weedy and most of my season consists of spinnerbaits, frogs and jigs once the weeds come to the surface, and as a result I abandoned this project. I did find that certain jerkbaits did perform better and I think I caught more fish than I may have otherwise, but how do you know for sure? Depending on the location of the magnets you might have to use heat shrink on your hooks to keep them from attaching to the magnets. If you're in an area where you can fish clean water thru the summer you might hit on something that will work for you if you play around with the magnets long enough.