Going To Try Out Some New Lures This Wknd, Need Some Pointers On Suspended Jerkbaits

[das028]

Well after cashing in on my warranty of my broken GL2, I went back to dicks and got a replacment rod, plus another rod to use with an old lews speed spool I recently brought back from the dead. I also bout a topwater frog, and some new split rings and hooks from some old jerkbaits and cranks that needed some TLC.

 

I'll be fishing from the bank, but this time I'm gonna lug 3 rods with me. I'll have my spincast rigged with a zoom super fluke to throw out quickly when I miss that strike. Which will happen! One ofr my baitcasters rigged with that frog, and my last baitcaster rigged with a suspended jerkbait. The kind that has 2 sections. My tried and true jig/craw combo will be sure to make an apperance sometime as well

 

 

I've never fished the frog, but I think I can manage that one. But the suspended jerk has me concerned. my Lake has a lot of logs, branchs, etc...underwater, so im concerned with snags. Water is always stained at best, but with the rain we have been getting lately im pretty sure its going to be muddy.

 

So any tips or pointers you could give me withe that jerkbait would be much appreciated. Also with that topwater frog, is this a bait best used early in the morning or late in the eveniong when the fish are aggressive, or have any of you guys had luck catching them all day using it

[Montanaro]

u can catch em all day on frogs although low light is more productive. as for jerkbaits..che k out the pinned jerkbait thread at top of this forum.

[Fishes in trees]

Throwing jerkbaits in stained water, which has a considerable amount of snags, from the bank, is asking for it.  You are going to lose some baits.  It is inevitable.   Don't throw $15 pointers, throw cheaper Rogues, or red fins or something similar.  Just my opinion.

 

If I had to fish jerkbaits from the bank around snags, I would try to stack the deck in my favor.  One, I would use spinning gear with 30 lb braid or so.  Two, I would go with stock hooks or down grade to lighter wire trebles, so that when I got stuck I would have a chance of bending the hook and getting my bait back.

Three, a cheap set of waders or hip boots would get you off the bank a little bit and make it easier to parallel the shore.

 

Stick to your seasonal patterns, for me, here in Missouri, jerk baits are more of an early spring/fall thing.  Middle of summer - not so much.

 

Now that I think of it, I don't think that I would ever fish a hard jerk bait from the bank around cover, because as I think more about it, there are much better alternatives.  A sluggo or a tx rigged senko or senko imitation will accomplish pretty much the same presentation with much less opportunities for getting snagged.

 

Now that I've thought some more about it, the only hard bait that I would ever fish from the bank would be a spinner bait, maybe as a last resort a rattle trap type bait with stock, easily bendable hooks.

 

Now, if I absolutely had to throw a crank/jerk bait in snag infested water from the bank, I would at least run a spinner bait through the water a few times to get an idea of where the snags were.

 

Back in the day, when I was a bank bound hippie meat fisherman, my day in, day out, lure of choice was a

1/8 or 3/16 finesse jig with some sort of pork trailer - the split tail eel being my favorite, and the twin tail being a close second.  If it is your primary bait, and you are keeping it wet all the time, pork is a great bait.  

It can dry out, so if you are changing baits often it isn't a good choice.  Again, just my opinions.

[roadwarrior]

Forget about the jerkbait. Jerkbaits work best in clear to slightly stained water,

but not muddy. More importantly, you will lose your jerkbait fishing from shore,

maybe on the first cast!

[das028]

Thanks for the advice fellas, I think I'm gonna tie my jig on instead. I just bought a red/ black one I wanna try out.

So about the frog, u guys have luck with them mid day, rather the mornings or evenings

[MarkH024]

So about the frog, u guys have luck with them mid day, rather the mornings or evenings

Weed edges, pockets, and clearings in vegetation during the low light hours.  Mid day/high skies I'll throw frogs in the thickest of the thick pads or matted weeds and still get bit. You can catch them all day on a frog, it just takes a little more work.