Jerk Bait Hook Set Problems?

[fsuboy99]

I am using a white rapala jerk bait and fish go nuts on this lure but they always spit the hook or grab it and I set the hook And line just goes slack I'm I setting the hook to hard or not hard enough?any ideas?

[J Francho]

You shouldn't have to set the hook at all, just reel, and sweep the rod into pressuring the fish.

[Paul Roberts]

Hmmmmm... need more info, I think. And you might not be able to give it. Might be the way the fish were taking?

 

Assumning your hooks are sharp, either they aren't actually taking it, they are small, or maybe you are not detecting them in time? During the retrieve, slack allows the bait to do its thing, but too much and fish will spit them. My retrieve is a tug and slack, then immediately wind that small amount of slack so the line is hanging with a little tension. It's controlled and I'm watching the line too. I come back into contact by adding tension, like weighing the line, in case there's a fish there. Really, the attracting part is the dart. The pause is the trigger. The pause and very first moment of further retrieve is detection.

 

I do set the hook and it tends to be a sweep like John mentions as those hooks are small and sharp. But some fish will take and head toward you and are tough to detect immediately. I then have to react more aggressively.

 

Not sure if this helps at all. Might just have to play around with those fish some more.

[J Francho]

One more tip, keep a spinning rod, with a wacky rigged senko at the ready.  And I mean ready to cast.  Any misses on a jerkbait or spook type topwater, and immediatel set the rod down, and cast the senko to the exact spot of the miss.  Don't even waste time reeling in the other bait, unless you're in a tournament, and can only have one line out at a time.  This will usually seal the deal with "bait slappers."

[ColdSVT]

a nice swift sweep. no need to give em a concusion like when jig fishin

[backwater4]

x's 2 on what jfranco said. maybe try some different hooks or a size larger.

[Bass Junkie]

As had been said before, make sure your hooks are sharp, and that you don't have too much slack in the line. As soon as you feel that tell-tale tap, swing through the fish, and start reeling. 

[Hyrule Bass]

if the fish are guarding beds then they may not even be biting your bait. just bumping it. i saw fishing a live bluegill off a dock once, a fish was guarding a bed under the dock, he came out every now and then and just bumped this bluegill but never opened his mouth as if he were gonna eat it, just gave it a warning bump, this happened several times...

[smalljaw67]

It  isn't you, the fish are swiping at it and missing the hooks, when they do that or when they follow it you have the right action you just need to tweak it to make them commit. A change in size, color or both will usually result in them getting it.

[SirSnookalot]

The more you do it the more your automatic reaction is.

[airborne_angler]

I throw Rapala Xraps and normally when I hook up the fish are just "there" without warning.

[Grantman83]

All of my hits on a jerkbait come on the pause.  I think I have accidentally set the hook more often than not as I go to jerk again and the fish is on the lure already.  I probably retrieve too fast.  Im using thin line so alot of times its hard to see the line jump especially on a windier day. 

[VABassin'14]

When fishing a jerkbait it doesn't take much to set the hook. When you feel one hit, just start reeling and make sure you keep your line tight. Letting slack in your line is the number one mistake you could make, especially right after the strike. Its not something I really think about doing it just kind of happens after a while. I bring the rod tip up and start reeling until I am sure the fish is good and hooked, then you can start playing the fish if you would like.

[Hogsticker]

Line and rod action play a part as well. Just make sure the fish has a hold on it and a soft sweep should stick them. If they are throwing the hooks perhaps lesser drag pressure would help. If they are slapping at it vary your retrieve. Lure selection as to subtle vs. erratic action, size and color can make a difference too. just keep playing with it till ya get it right.

[Hanover_Yakker]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is line choice.  If you are using a line with little or no stretch, you might also be pulling the bait out of their mouths.  Just a thought.  I've always been told to fish it on the same rig as a topwater lure.  Hasn't failed me yet.  When I first started, I used braid because it floated and was easier to see.  After several misses, I switched to PLine CXX and have never looked back.

[Lukas Lange]

You want smooth drag for jerkbaits .the fish are chasing baits at decent speeds if you have the drag to tight you pull it out there mouths .you want .the drag set so you can easily pull it out with your hand 

[RoLo]

1 hour ago, Lukas Lange said:

You want smooth drag for jerkbaits .the fish are chasing baits at decent speeds if you have the drag to tight you pull it out there mouths .you want .the drag set so you can easily pull it out with your hand 

 

 

Welcome aboard Lukas.

Looks like your first post landed a pterodactyl  (2013) 

 

Roger

 

[Attila]

I'm wondering which jerk bait are you using? X-Rap or Shadow Rap?  Also, what type of fishing rod are you using, as in what power is it? As well, are you using a long pause during your retrieve?

 

I ask because perhaps swapping out the stock trebles which come with the lures is a possible option for you. I did that with some of my Shadow Raps last year, upgrading the rear treble to VMC Barbarian treble hooks and occasionally swapping the front treble out and upsizing to a blood red coloured treble to give the lure a bit of extra flash.  I've attached a photo below to show you how it looks with the treble hooks changed.

As others have mentioned, a sweeping hookset works well. Also, I tend to fish braid with a fluorocarbon leader and it allows me give the lure more action while still having it look natural during the pause.

 

[Lukas Lange]

On 5/21/2017 at 11:29 AM, Attila said:

I'm wondering which jerk bait are you using? X-Rap or Shadow Rap?  Also, what type of fishing rod are you using, as in what power is it? As well, are you using a long pause during your retrieve?

 

I ask because perhaps swapping out the stock trebles which come with the lures is a possible option for you. I did that with some of my Shadow Raps last year, upgrading the rear treble to VMC Barbarian treble hooks and occasionally swapping the front treble out and upsizing to a blood red coloured treble to give the lure a bit of extra flash.  I've attached a photo below to show you how it looks with the treble hooks changed.

As others have mentioned, a sweeping hookset works well. Also, I tend to fish braid with a fluorocarbon leader and it allows me give the lure more action while still having it look natural during the pause.

 

Personally I fish a 6'8 medium for the smaller lures and   a 7'0 medium heavy for the bigger ones especially for snook . my best jerkbaits are lucky craft flashpointers (ghost minnow ) that color slays em . xraps and megabass itovision works awesome too .I use only flurocarbon for jerkbait fishing for bass 10 lb test .if I'm going for saltwater I usually use 20lb or I have on 10lb braid with a 20lb fluro leader . don't be afraid to over work the flashpointers you'll be surprised how fast they want it sometimes 

[Attila]

15 hours ago, Lukas Lange said:

Personally I fish a 6'8 medium for the smaller lures and   a 7'0 medium heavy for the bigger ones especially for snook . my best jerkbaits are lucky craft flashpointers (ghost minnow ) that color slays em . xraps and megabass itovision works awesome too .I use only flurocarbon for jerkbait fishing for bass 10 lb test .if I'm going for saltwater I usually use 20lb or I have on 10lb braid with a 20lb fluro leader . don't be afraid to over work the flashpointers you'll be surprised how fast they want it sometimes 

It's interesting reading a post of mine from back in May...lol  I spent a whole summer fishing jerkbaits and learning different things about them with a good amount of success. 

 

I really believe that braid with a fluorocarbon leader is the way to go especially when setting the hook into a fish a long distance away, but that's just me. As long as you're catching fish that's what matters.

 

I recently picked up some Slender Pointer 112's and had a great day with them and I'm looking forward to using them a lot more over what's left of the summer and next season along with my Shadow Raps and Shadow Rap Shads.

[Scott F]

3 hours ago, Attila said:

I really believe that braid with a fluorocarbon leader is the way to go especially when setting the hook into a fish a long distance away, but that's just me. As long as you're catching fish that's what matters.

What advantage does using a fluorocarbon leader give you?

[Attila]

2 hours ago, Scott F said:

What advantage does using a fluorocarbon leader give you?

The water that I fish is gin clear and is filled with rocks and zebra mussels, and I don't find that braid does well when I'm fishing around such structure. As well, it helps from straightening out small trebles found on a lot of jerkbaits and also pulling said lure away from fish too quickly, something which in the past has cost me a few decent sized fish.  Finally, braid is so limp that I would get line around my rod tip and into my trebles on practically every cast. That, to me, is a pain in the backside. 

 

Since incorporating a fluorocarbon leader, I haven't lost fish in any situation noted above. As well, I haven't noticed any adverse impact on the suspension, rising, or sinking characteristics of the jerkbaits that I throw which include Rapala Shadow Rap's and Shadow Rap Shads, Strike King KVD 2 hook baits, and Lucky Craft Slender Pointer and regular Pointer family baits.

Hope this helps.

 

 

[Scott F]

3 minutes ago, Attila said:

The water that I fish is gin clear and is filled with rocks and zebra mussels, and I don't find that braid does well when I'm fishing around such structure. As well, it helps from straightening out small trebles found on a lot of jerkbaits and also pulling said lure away from fish too quickly, something which in the past has cost me a few decent sized fish.  Finally, braid is so limp that I would get line around my rod tip and into my trebles on practically every cast. That, to me, is a pain in the backside. 

 

Since incorporating a fluorocarbon leader, I haven't lost fish in any situation noted above. As well, I haven't noticed any adverse impact on the suspension, rising, or sinking characteristics of the jerkbaits that I throw which include Rapala Shadow Rap's and Shadow Rap Shads, Strike King KVD 2 hook baits, and Lucky Craft Slender Pointer and regular Pointer family baits.

Hope this helps.

How much leader do you use? When jerkbait fishing, does your bait often come in contact with the bottom where your line will hit rocks or zebra muscles? I do a lot of jerkbait fishing and have never had my lure or my line strike the bottom before. Won't zebra muscles cut fluorocarbon line? I've never fished water where zebra muscles are present. Except for line wrapping around the rod tip, I've never experienced any of the issues you've had like straightening out hooks. To me, the leader is much more of a pain than the occasional issue of the line wrapping around the rod. 

[Attila]

36 minutes ago, Scott F said:

How much leader do you use? When jerkbait fishing, does your bait often come in contact with the bottom where your line will hit rocks or zebra muscles? I do a lot of jerkbait fishing and have never had my lure or my line strike the bottom before. Won't zebra muscles cut fluorocarbon line? I've never fished water where zebra muscles are present. Except for line wrapping around the rod tip, I've never experienced any of the issues you've had like straightening out hooks. To me, the leader is much more of a pain than the occasional issue of the line wrapping around the rod. 

The longest leader I start with is usually about 8' in length, and I'll usually use it so long as I don't drop below a 3' leader length; I attach it with a uni to uni knot. With regards to bottom contact, there are situations where I'm casting over a saddle which will result in bottom contact when I'm retrieving over the rocks on said saddle. As well, I've found zebra mussels attached to aquatic weed growth that I'm fishing in. The fluorocarbon I use does a great job at holding up to the zebra mussels and rocks that I encounter.

 

As to zebra mussels cutting line, I suggest watching the following; it changed how I feel about fluorocarbon and, while I wasn't using Tatsu (I was using InvizX, switching to Tatsu for next year), really convinced me mentally that I was making the right choice in the gear I was using to throw jerkbaits on. It can be found here - http://www.westernbass.com/video/underwater-viewpoint-benefits-seaguar-abrasion-resistant-fluorocarbon-lines

I fished jerkbaits for years and really focused on them this year and found that my catch levels increased a great amount with the addition of a piece of fluorocarbon. Tying a leader takes less than a minute and with the improved success I've had, it'll be something I'll be doing at all times.