Pimp My Jerkbait

[Felix77]

All,

 

Wondering what you do to your jerkbaits to make them more effective in the water.  

 

Here's what I do ...

 

1 - Upsize the hooks.  Generally up to #4's on the middle hook.  Keep stock size on front and back (#2's usually)

2 - Red.  Generally go red on all the hooks.  At the very least the middle one.

3 - Feathered treble on back.  For some reason I see these on poppers and rarely see this trick on jerkbaits.  Killer on the pauses.

 

Keeping balance and buoyancy in mind is always key when pimping it out.  I look for the end result to be a jerkbait with a neutral bouyancy, maybe a slight fall in moderate temp water (50 - 60ish).  Nose down as well.

 

Thoughts?

 

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I tie my own feathered trebles for jerkbaits.

 

Longer tails will kill the action a bit, giving it the ability to be worked more subtley with less side to side movement. It also allows you to present a bigger profile on the bait while adding next to no weight.

 

Shorter tails, the way I tie them, tend to flair out and present a side profile similar to a tail IMO.

 

I'm not big on adding feathered trebles to hangers other than the rear, purely personal preference.

[BenBassmaster]

Well now I know I have a general idea on what to do with my jerk baits. I don't fish them much, but with your tips, I'll start throwing them before spring this year thanks!

[jhoffman]

Buy 10, open all ten head to a pool. Find out half are junk, ebay them or give them away. Take the other 5, find the 2 that run perfect, change their hooks, fish them like gold. Take the other three, attempt to adjust them via hooks, feathers, bending keepers/ties or lips... keep them for backups.

 

Just like crankbaits, 1/4 of them will be worth the box they came in and the rest are junk

[J Francho]

Just like crankbaits, 1/4 of them will be worth the box they came in and the rest are junk

 

You're buying the wrong brands.  It does cost you, though.

[jhoffman]

Im not talkn about buying 10 LC Pointers at one shot. But, the LC pointer isnt the only jerkbait in the world either.

[A-Jay]

Im not talkn about buying 10 LC Pointers at one shot. But, the LC pointer isnt the only jerkbait in the world either.

 

No but a very good percentage of them track correctly right out of the box.

 

A-Jay

[jhoffman]

Thats why its $16, the other ones at $4/$5 need attention.

 

Its just too hard for most of us, me include to buy a bait, try to tune it, it doesnt catch fish and then buy the exact same bait again. That however is the key though, not all baits are created equal.

[OkobojiEagle]

You're spending more money on several off-brand jerkbaits than you will on one Pointer that doesn't need to be jury-rigged to suspend and walk correctly.  Buy one Pointer and see if you're not impressed.  If you like it buy another... you only need a couple to get the job done!

 

oe

[Maico1]

Buy 10, open all ten head to a pool. Find out half are junk, ebay them or give them away. Take the other 5, find the 2 that run perfect, change their hooks, fish them like gold. Take the other three, attempt to adjust them via hooks, feathers, bending keepers/ties or lips... keep them for backups.

 

Just like crankbaits, 1/4 of them will be worth the box they came in and the rest are junk

This is exactly why I will not waste my money anymore on the brands you are describing ....Done with all the gyrations to get one to track properly a long time ago....

[Fishes in trees]

Lucky Craft isn't the only jerkbait in the world?  Really?  Who told you that?  Who else makes them?  Oh yeah, now that I think about it, I have heard whispers that there are others.   I have a few pals that speak highly of the Vision 110.   Personally, I can't speak to that.

[Comfortably Numb]

I take a thin red sharpie and draw a red line behind rhe molded gill line on the Pointer.

[jhoffman]

So let me understand this, you all have boxes upon boxes of lucky craft cranks, jerkbaits, topwaters and you never need to tune anything?

 

There are plenty of other worthy baits out there, yeah I might have to spend $30 or $40 to find that perfect one but when I do my buddy standing right next to me can throw the same bait the same cadence and Ill outfish him and its not cause im back boating him.

 

Even LC's get modified by most people. Ill bet over half the people on this thread when they open the box the hooks go strait to the garbage in favor of another.

[Jrob78]

Jerkbaits are a completely different animal than crankbaits.  They have to be weighted, balanced and produced properly or they will not suspend with the correct orientation or even suspend at all.  In suspending jerkbaits, you really do get what you pay for.  It is completely absurd to think that you need to buy 10 baits to get 2 that perform flawlessly.  If you want to buy cheap sq bills, you can probably get away with it, don't skimp on the jerkbaits. 

[Maico1]

So let me understand this, you all have boxes upon boxes of lucky craft cranks, jerkbaits, topwaters and you never need to tune anything?

 

There are plenty of other worthy baits out there, yeah I might have to spend $30 or $40 to find that perfect one but when I do my buddy standing right next to me can throw the same bait the same cadence and Ill outfish him and its not cause im back boating him.

 

Even LC's get modified by most people. Ill bet over half the people on this thread when they open the box the hooks go strait to the garbage in favor of another.

First of all let me apologize to the O P but I would like to respond to this statement ........Yes I do have boxes and boxes but not just LC can you say...Megabass, Deps , Imakatsu, Bassday, Evergreen , Jackall , Duo, Rosso Corsa , Kanji and so on. Now for the best part they do not have to be tuned. Listen to what others are trying to tell you and you may just discover a whole new program instead of going through all the BS that you do... Like O E said "Buy one Pointer and see if you're not impressed"...... I you do not try you will never know there may be a better way.....JMHO.

[Gatorbassman]

So let me understand this, you all have boxes upon boxes of lucky craft cranks, jerkbaits, topwaters and you never need to tune anything?

 

There are plenty of other worthy baits out there, yeah I might have to spend $30 or $40 to find that perfect one but when I do my buddy standing right next to me can throw the same bait the same cadence and Ill outfish him and its not cause im back boating him.

 

Even LC's get modified by most people. Ill bet over half the people on this thread when they open the box the hooks go strait to the garbage in favor of another.

You sure are full of assumptions man and to be honest, I really don't understand why you go through all the trouble. I could understand if you were talking about handmade wooden baits but plastic production baits are an entirely different animal. 

 

Over the years I've bought four LC jerkbaits. All are the same size and color and they each have their fair share of scratches on them from all the fish they've caught. I changed a hook on one of them today because it wasn't suspending enough. That was due to water temp. I have about 24 other jerbaits that cost 5 to 10 each. Some required more customizing than others but they all catch fish. I have yet to find one that can't be adjusted to do exactly what I want it to do. 

[PondBoss]

The only modifications I make are adding a red front hook.  I have lots of all sizes of trebles, just in case I need to make a change while on the water to get the bait to suspend the way I want it.  I have never had a problem with a $5-$8 the only way I'm ever owning any LC or more expensive baits is if they are on clearance or given to me.  I fish the Lucky Strike STX and Bomber, and H2O Xpress they all put plenty of fish in the boat.  

[shootermcbob]

I too had really good success on both the lucky strike jerkbait, as well as the Xcaliber erratic shad jerkbait.

 

I don't have a lot of jerkbaits....maybe 20 or so, but I have a few each of the following...Lucky strike, Xcaliber, LC pointers, smithwick rogues, rapala x-raps, and some damiki slimjacks.

 

 

I have done nothing to any of these baits as far as modifying goes.

[J Francho]

Honestly, I don't like tuning hard baits at all.  I want to take them out of the box, and fish them.  To me, I've paid for all the R&D put into the lure, and if I lose it, I want to be able to open the box, and put on a new one that was just like the old.  Even some expensive brands have let me down.  Some inexpensive stuff has been great.  Storm Thundersticks (they don't make the suspending ones anymore, unfortunately), Rogues, Husky Jerks are a few good value lures.  Pointers, Flash Minnows, OSP, and Visions are some good baits at the higher end.

[Dwight Hottle]

So let me understand this, you all have boxes upon boxes of lucky craft cranks, jerkbaits, topwaters and you never need to tune anything?

 

There are plenty of other worthy baits out there, yeah I might have to spend $30 or $40 to find that perfect one but when I do my buddy standing right next to me can throw the same bait the same cadence and Ill outfish him and its not cause im back boating him.

 

Even LC's get modified by most people. Ill bet over half the people on this thread when they open the box the hooks go strait to the garbage in favor of another.

 

 

I have at least six plano boxes of various lucky craft jerk baits. I can honestly say I have Never felt the need to modify any of them other than to replace a worn out factory hook. I will bet you I catch as many fish on those not modified lc jerkbaits as your assumed most people who do modify them. Think what you want, do what you do. It is your money.

[CPBassFishing]

Jerkbaits are a completely different animal than crankbaits.  They have to be weighted, balanced and produced properly or they will not suspend with the correct orientation or even suspend at all.  In suspending jerkbaits, you really do get what you pay for.  It is completely absurd to think that you need to buy 10 baits to get 2 that perform flawlessly.  If you want to buy cheap sq bills, you can probably get away with it, don't skimp on the jerkbaits. 

dont rule out cheap stuff just yet. the daiwa db minnow is $6, suspends perfectly, casts like a rocket, durable, good color schemes, and decent hooks. i have tried a LC pointer and the db minnow is 3/4 as good for less than half the price, if not almost on par.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Buy 10, open all ten head to a pool. Find out half are junk, ebay them or give them away. Take the other 5, find the 2 that run perfect, change their hooks, fish them like gold. Take the other three, attempt to adjust them via hooks, feathers, bending keepers/ties or lips... keep them for backups.

 

Just like crankbaits, 1/4 of them will be worth the box they came in and the rest are junk

Remind me not to buy any baits from you on EBay.

[lmoore]

For cheap ones, Rogues rarely need tuned out of the box. Rapala XRaps are pretty consistent also. I can't possibly fathom what baits you buy with a 20-50% "good" rate.

[Jrob78]

dont rule out cheap stuff just yet. the daiwa db minnow is $6, suspends perfectly, casts like a rocket, durable, good color schemes, and decent hooks. i have tried a LC pointer and the db minnow is 3/4 as good for less than half the price, if not almost on par.

 

The Daiwa DB minnow IS a great little bait!  Most of those TD baits are really good.  But........I think the db minnow was a $12-$15 bait when it was originally released.

[jhoffman]

Most baits on ebay arent there because they are good baits, I see I ruffled some of you guys feathers though wow. Calm down people, we are talking about baits that are produced in mass. When anything is produced in mass there will be tollerence issues, assembly issues, issues with mixtures of plastic. When you glue baits together with rattles, rattles inside can get glued to the sides... things do go wrong, we dont live in a perfect world where the entire rack in the store everyone of them will be the way they are supposed to be. Its just like rods, reels, everything else. One might work awesome for someone, the next guy thinks its junk.

 

I own LC baits, yes they usually are top notch but as I stated before not every situation calls for one.

 

Lets take for instance that I am fishing jerks in fallen timber. If I can bring three baits out of dozen. I paid $3 each for that are prestine with 3 more being half decent. I paid $36 for 6 baits to which you bought two or three LCs. I can fish the three that arent working great in open water and if I lose them I still have my 3 that are awesome. You lose 3 lcs in that brush and you have zero.

 

Yep... your money, my money... you do what you want and I do what I want. I actually enjoy playing with tackle and changing things to see if I can make something that not everyone has. If thats not for you thats fine as well.