Is This Jerk Bait Too Big To Be Effective?

[TNBassin']

I have an old Rapala jerk bait that was my dad's, but in comparison to my others it's quite a bit bigger. I posted a comparison pic so you can see how big it is. Should I even bother fishing this?

[J Francho]

Not too big at all.

[Deleted account]

I like the 10 and 12. They catch fish, the only drawback is they don't cast well. Its still my really cold water go to jerkbait. (except for this one rogue)

[TNBassin']

Good to know it's useful. If I can catch fish on it, being my dad's who is deceased, will make it even better.

[PABASS]

A 14.5" bass can eat a 6" Gizzard Shad which is much larger then that lure.  I have caught numerous bass on lures as long and or longer then the bass them selves, point is try it and see if it works for you..

 

 

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Not too big at all.

 

Not even in the remote vicinity of being close to too big.

[TNBassin']

In comparison to my others it looks huge lol.

[tholmes]

I regularly use a F18 Rapala floating minnow that's 7 inches long. I've caught bass that were just barely longer than the lure. It's surprising how big of a bait a small bass will try to eat!

 

Tom

[TNBassin']

Is that what my lure is?

[Fishes in trees]

That larger lure in your picture is a Rapala Husky Jerk.  Those are good lures.  The exact model number of the one pictures escapes me right now.  I've got a number of them.  I think that they are light for their size, and I had distance issues casting them with bait casting gear.  They are relatively easy to tinker with to get them to suspend,  using suspend dots, or strips or weighting the hooks with wire.

 

They are still pretty light for their size though.   One of the reasons I went to spinning gear and light braid for all jerk bait applications.  Not really, I went to spinning gear and light braid for jerk baits about 8 years ago because, I got tired of dealing with bait casting gear in early spring windy conditions andIn-fisherman magazine told me to.  It works well enough that I haven't had any reason to go back to bait casting gear.

 

For me, I'm pretty certain that I can cast any given jerk bait 40 or 50 feet farther using spinning gear, especially into or quartering into the wind.  Fishing jerkbaits is, in part, a cover the water kind of deal so that extra distance becomes important to me.

 

Hey, I just realized I got quite a bit off topic, and sorry for that.  It is Tuesday, there is 10+ inches of snow on the ground and I don't have to be anywhere until Friday afternoon.

[TNBassin']

Thanks for the info. It's appreciated.

[jhoffman]

Im more concerned with the fact that you mixed crankbaits, swimjigs, spinnerbaits and red eye shads in the same box. Didnt anyone inform you thats the ingredients in the dink hex?

[Dwight Hottle]

That is a HJ14 . 5.5 inch body length & weighs 5/8 oz. Excellent bait.

[OkobojiEagle]

Throw it at night in some walleye waters... and bring along a change of under shorts.

 

oe

[BassinB]

A big husky jerk is a great jerkbait.  Will it catch bass? yup.  Will it catch a ****load of snake northern? yup.

[Deleted account]

Im more concerned with the fact that you mixed crankbaits, swimjigs, spinnerbaits and red eye shads in the same box. Didnt anyone inform you thats the ingredients in the dink hex?

 

I saw that too, and its a problem, but I'm more concerned with how shinny everything is...

[TNBassin']

Im more concerned with the fact that you mixed crankbaits, swimjigs, spinnerbaits and red eye shads in the same box. Didnt anyone inform you thats the ingredients in the dink hex?

I usually keep my most used baits all in one box so I don't have to mess with it out on the water. All of my other cranks, jigs etc are all together. The stuff in this particular box is new stuff I haven't had a chance to fish with much yet, and stuff I picked up over the winter and at BPS over the weekend. If the weather cooperates this week hopefully some of that shine will be gone. And I'm concerned that someone mistook a booyah boogee bait for a RES lol.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Just to help your confidence with bait size....

 

The two big ones in focus are both 10 inches long and weigh around 7oz.

 

[Bluebasser86]

I've caught lots of fish on a 128 pointer, not quite as long but 5" long and very tall and a full ounce it's a very large bait. The hardest part is trying to twitch a bait that large.

[RyneB]

i found that same exact rapala hung up in a tree while wading a small river. I brought it home and switched out the hooks and split rings and it was a fish catching machine. I ended up overcasting my target one day and it cracked on a boulder. I bought the same bait in color and size, but it doesnt catch fish nearly as well as that one i found. I miss that thing.

[rockchalk06]

Good to know it's useful. If I can catch fish on it, being my dad's who is deceased, will make it even better.

Agreed. Im still trying to track down all of dads fishing stuff. My uncles picked his house clean after he died.

[deep]

Never caught anything on the big husky jerk, but I've caught plenty on the 128 size regular pointer and the 127 size smallie pointer.

[The Rooster]

i found that same exact rapala hung up in a tree while wading a small river. I brought it home and switched out the hooks and split rings and it was a fish catching machine. I ended up overcasting my target one day and it cracked on a boulder. I bought the same bait in color and size, but it doesnt catch fish nearly as well as that one i found. I miss that thing.

Ever wonder if it was just the right combination of hooks and split rings you put in that other one that made the difference? Maybe something was just slightly different in weight from what the factory puts on them. If you still have the old bait or its hardware, switch it out on the new one and see what happens.

[RyneB]

Ever wonder if it was just the right combination of hooks and split rings you put in that other one that made the difference? Maybe something was just slightly different in weight from what the factory puts on them. If you still have the old bait or its hardware, switch it out on the new one and see what happens.

 

great idea, ill look for it. I havent come acrossed it in awhile. I probably pitched it when i was bored and going through the bait monkeys tackle pile.