Summer Jerkbaits

[papajoe222]

I was Just wondering how many, if any, of you fish Rogues, Long A's, Rapalas, etc. during the summer? 

My home lake has an abundance of weed flats where the weeds top out from 1-3ft. below the surface and this is a presentation I use when I'm trying to get my little guy into some fish.  Similar to a Zara Spook in that they can draw fish up and out of cover, it's been a great way to keep him from getting hung up on cover.

The flip side to this is I've found myself throwing jerkbaits more when I'm by myself and looking to relax. I can sit and fan cast without putting forth much effort into the thought process and unlike a lot of the 'power' presentations I rely on, I don't feel worn down when I get off the water.

Now I almost always have a rod sitting on my deck or in my hand with one tied on.

 

BTW, for all you smallmouth fanatics, I've found they work great on suspended fish in clear water.

[quanjig]

Absolutely, great bait for suspended fish crashing thru bait balls. Watch the graph and if you happen upon a school of shad that is somewhat broken up by feeding bass, back off and get that thing in there!!

[mrmacwvu1]

i fish them year round i just vary my retrieve

[Basshammer]

^{I love a jerkbait in the summer especially when fishing for smallies they love it.}

[mnbassman23]

I find myself having a couple stellar days on the water with suspending jerkbaits during the summer. Over weed flats, around weed clumps, edge of shallower weedlines, by docks, and around laydowns. Somedays being able to keep that bait in the strike zone longer around key pieces of structure greatly improves the amount of fish you will catch. 

[smalljaw67]

I fish floating rogues all summer, it is a killer on river smallmouth and if you have weedbeds that have a 1" to 3" depth then you have the perfect spot for that bait.  This year I started using the Bang--O-Lure from Bagleys, they are quickly becoming my favorites and I never thought anything could do better than my clown colored floating rogues, the shallow diving ones. The Bang-O-Lure is doing better  with size, it seems the bigger fish have been hitting it and I've been doing well on river smallmouth with it but the shallow rogue is still my go to but really any floating jerkbait will work great in summer but very few anglers use them anymore. i'm glad to see other use it as well, good luck on the next outing with it.

[Bankbeater]

Years ago I use to hear people say that you only fish jigs in the winter, and now they are used year round.  Same with jerkbaits.

[BuffaloBass716]

What jerkbait are you talking about exactly? This may work perfect for a stop that I fish. there are weeds a few feet down all around the shore.

[rmcguirk]

After having read this thread, I thought why not. I enjoy jerk bait fishing, why leave it for cold water. Nothing else was working tonight, so I tied on my favorite LC Pointer and went to work along a weed line. Finally got the right cadence down and picked up two in quick succession, one of which was a nice 4lb bass. On my home lake, using that type of lure at this time of year is begging for pike, and I enjoy a good pike fight, but I was pleased to get the two bass.

I think I'll be keeping jerk baits in the rotation for the remainder of the year. Thanks for the reminder.

[NathanW]

Yes, I caught LM and SM all season long on jerkbaits and plan to keep throwing them until November. This is the first season I have done this.

 

How olds the little guy? I am counting the days that I can take mine out (only 9 months now). We've had him on the boat three times and it has not gone great, hates his little life vest.

 

I have been obsessed with finding a jerkbait that works the upper 2.5 foot of water quickly, for basically the exact same scenerio you are talking about. Just like RMCGuirk mentioned I had numerous occasions this summer where I knew if I had the right jerkbait I could have really caught them. There are a handfull of jerkbaits I plan on trying that seem to fall in the "extra shallow category". Ive listed a few that could potentiall fit the bill on paper, I'll buy and test them all if I have too (I am serious) but was wondering if you, or anybody else has a no brainer bait I should be using.

 

Smithwick Rattlin Rogue

Bagley BangOLure

Damiki Slim Jack

Rapala Max Rap

Rapala Flat Rap

Lucky Craft Spazz

Spro Mcstick 115

[papajoe222]

Don't fprget the original floating Rapala.  A #9 on spinning gear and 8 or 10lb. mono works great and you can work it fast and still keep it above the weeds.

[Jrob78]

I just picked up 5 NIB Megabass Vision 110 High Floaters for less than half price, I'm thinking they will be great for warm water fishing.  I think the Spro McStick 115 will be very good too.  I usually want a jerkbait I can fish fast that will stay up shallow for summer fishing.

[rockchalk06]

Yes, I caught LM and SM all season long on jerkbaits and plan to keep throwing them until November. This is the first season I have done this.

How olds the little guy? I am counting the days that I can take mine out (only 9 months now). We've had him on the boat three times and it has not gone great, hates his little life vest.

I have been obsessed with finding a jerkbait that works the upper 2.5 foot of water quickly, for basically the exact same scenerio you are talking about. Just like RMCGuirk mentioned I had numerous occasions this summer where I knew if I had the right jerkbait I could have really caught them. There are a handfull of jerkbaits I plan on trying that seem to fall in the "extra shallow category". Ive listed a few that could potentiall fit the bill on paper, I'll buy and test them all if I have too (I am serious) but was wondering if you, or anybody else has a no brainer bait I should be using.

Smithwick Rattlin Rogue

Bagley BangOLure

Damiki Slim Jack

Rapala Max Rap

Rapala Flat Rap

Lucky Craft Spazz

Spro Mcstick 115

I picked up 2 Lucky Craft 97MR flash pointers last week. With 40# braid they are running between 2-3 feet for me.

[smalljaw67]

Yes, I caught LM and SM all season long on jerkbaits and plan to keep throwing them until November. This is the first season I have done this.

 

How olds the little guy? I am counting the days that I can take mine out (only 9 months now). We've had him on the boat three times and it has not gone great, hates his little life vest.

 

I have been obsessed with finding a jerkbait that works the upper 2.5 foot of water quickly, for basically the exact same scenerio you are talking about. Just like RMCGuirk mentioned I had numerous occasions this summer where I knew if I had the right jerkbait I could have really caught them. There are a handfull of jerkbaits I plan on trying that seem to fall in the "extra shallow category". Ive listed a few that could potentiall fit the bill on paper, I'll buy and test them all if I have too (I am serious) but was wondering if you, or anybody else has a no brainer bait I should be using.

 

Smithwick Rattlin Rogue

Bagley BangOLure

Damiki Slim Jack

Rapala Max Rap

Rapala Flat Rap

Lucky Craft Spazz

Spro Mcstick 115

 

You got a good list but there are a few modifications I would make, the first is to get rid of the Rapala mx rap and substitute an X-Rap. The reason being is that I found the Max Rap to be one of those baits that will draw big strikes, I catch nice fish with them but I only throw them when the fish are active as I can't seem to coax a strike with those but I can with the others. Also, the X-Rap is a suspending bait and it is one of only two suspending baits I'll use in the warm water months, the other being the Lucky Craft Flash minnow. The flas minnow suspends at around 1.5' to 2', perfect for stopping over a weedbed, and the x-rap has a super aggressive action that will draw fish from distance so that is why I use those. So the list you have would just replace the max rap for an x-rap and the LC spazz would be dropped for the LC flash minnow, otherwise it is a really good list that will work from spring through fall.

[NathanW]

You got a good list but there are a few modifications I would make, the first is to get rid of the Rapala mx rap and substitute an X-Rap. The reason being is that I found the Max Rap to be one of those baits that will draw big strikes, I catch nice fish with them but I only throw them when the fish are active as I can't seem to coax a strike with those but I can with the others. Also, the X-Rap is a suspending bait and it is one of only two suspending baits I'll use in the warm water months, the other being the Lucky Craft Flash minnow. The flas minnow suspends at around 1.5' to 2', perfect for stopping over a weedbed, and the x-rap has a super aggressive action that will draw fish from distance so that is why I use those. So the list you have would just replace the max rap for an x-rap and the LC spazz would be dropped for the LC flash minnow, otherwise it is a really good list that will work from spring through fall.

I'll certainly take your advice on this. Thanks! Was not too stoked on the Spazz as it says you need spinning gear or the Max Rap as I have a hard time spending $14 of a Rapala. Been meaning to try the flash minnow anyways.

[NathanW]

Don't fprget the original floating Rapala.  A #9 on spinning gear and 8 or 10lb. mono works great and you can work it fast and still keep it above the weeds.

They advertise that at 3-5 foot which is why I didnt list it. Should have figured that Rapala is advertising its trolling depth. I gotta ask people, what color are folks throwing in this bait? I've always had a very hard time with Rapala colors for bass fishing.