Summer Jerkbait

[bassguytom]

Am I missing out by not throwing a Jerkbait in the summer? I just have never done this but know some guys do with success. Does anyone out there throw a jerkbait in the summer or should I just wait until fall?

[Dwight Hottle]

Jerkbaits on weed edges work great all summer long for walleye, smallies & largemouth and a few pike & pickerel too. Deeper jerkbaits also work over humps, islands & rock piles for bass. Give it a try.

[Catch and Grease]

I was gonna try to commit to throwing one this morning but I decided not to because the grass here is ridiculous this time of year...

[flyfisher]

i haven't because i usually go with a soft jerk bait like a fluke or something instead due to the grass.  One lake i do frequent the grass isn't nearly as bad this year so i think i may just give it a try next time out and see what happens.  

[Gone_Phishin]

Straight retrieves have been the ticket for me in Summer.

[papajoe222]

I started a thread on this exact topic last year. You can do a search to see some of the replies.

I prefer a floating jerkbait over a Fluke for fishing over submerged weeds.  I can cover more water faster and because, I think, I'm working it faster it seems to me the fish attack it more than just inhaling it.  I've also used them as the business end on a Booyah Bo Rig with some success. More for walleye and pike, but in the right place it produced some nice bass.

[kingmotorboat]

Floating rattling rogue has been.money a few times this year for me

[Bluebasser86]

I've tried them multiple times around here and almost always zero on them. 

[Turkey sandwich]

I picked up a 3lber earlier this summer/post spawn throwing an X-Rap or Shadow Rap. I didn't have any electronics with me, but, based on the anchor rope, and nearby water skiing buoy, I know we were fishing over some sort of submerged structure and about 25' of water. The fish were suspended over deep water, maybe recovering from the spawn(?), maybe already recovered and chasing alewifes(?).

The pattern I found that day - deep, suspended, and alewife colors. I could definitely see it working even now so long as bass are hanging out suspended/feeding up and shad/herring/alewife make up the the primary forage.

[MDBowHunter]

I've been getting a couple every weekend on a vision 110,

[smalljaw67]

I throw jerkbaits all year as long as I have clear water, that is key. I use mostly floating jerkbaits in the warm water months but I do use 2 suspending models, the Rapala X-Rap, and the Lucky Craft Flash Minnow. I use soft jerkbaits normally but when you have clear water a lot of times you have to really move the bait and keep it moving, when you do that with a fluke type bait it will often come to the surface to quick and you have to pause it and the fish will turn and leave it. When that scenario happens, that is when you pick up a bait like a Rapala Original floater or Flat Rap and you can really get some great reaction strikes as you are basically working the bait frantically non-stop and the fish has to hit it or let it go and these can be some of the most violent hits of the season as the fish are not trying to eat as much as they are trying to kill, but you need good water clarity, 3' or more.

[Hogsticker]

I throw a jerkbait early spring till the dog days of summer begin, then pick it back up come fall time (generally October) . Dog days of summer I don't even reach for one. For someone who doesn't throw them often as general rule of thumb, the warmer it gets the faster you move it. Erratic. Cooler water, pause and cadence need to be played around with. The only jerkbait I've had success with when it's just stupid hot is a Spro Mcstick 95. No twitching, yank and pull, reel like a mad man type of deal. Smallmouth strikes are usually violent, but again to many other more productive baits to reach for imo.

[speed craw]

I personally use  jerkbaits all year long unless the water is solid , then I have to re group .

[the reel ess]

What do you have to lose? next time you're out and things aren't going great, throw it.

 

edit: I was thinking of a fluke when I said that. For me, they seem to shy away from the hard jerkbaits after late spring. But they'll still hit the fluke, I guess because it's a little bit slower and it sinks. I'll also still try the Trick Worm, weightless, fished as you would a hard jerkbait.

 

As a bonus, if you're on a lake with stripers, they'll also hit the fluke when you happen upon them on the main lake structure where you're bass fishing. I caught a few once as fast as I could cast and unhook. I was throwing them in the floor of the boat and casting back out.

[hatrix]

I throw jerkbaits all year as long as I have clear water, that is key. I use mostly floating jerkbaits in the warm water months but I do use 2 suspending models, the Rapala X-Rap, and the Lucky Craft Flash Minnow. I use soft jerkbaits normally but when you have clear water a lot of times you have to really move the bait and keep it moving, when you do that with a fluke type bait it will often come to the surface to quick and you have to pause it and the fish will turn and leave it. When that scenario happens, that is when you pick up a bait like a Rapala Original floater or Flat Rap and you can really get some great reaction strikes as you are basically working the bait frantically non-stop and the fish has to hit it or let it go and these can be some of the most violent hits of the season as the fish are not trying to eat as much as they are trying to kill, but you need good water clarity, 3' or more.

You don't catch fish with flukes when they break the surface? That is what I want them to do and and so do the fish. Quick ad just below the surface.

[smalljaw67]

You don't catch fish with flukes when they break the surface? That is what I want them to do and and so do the fish. Quick ad just below the surface.

 

When we have low clear water the smallmouth won't commit to a fluke fished on top and they want the bait fast but as soon as it hits the surface they turn away. There are also times when they swipe at it, that is another situation for the hard jerkbait.

[Wayne P.]

X-rap giant from last week:

 

[flyfisher]

After reading this thread before i decided i would chuck an xrap today.  Caught one pickerel and had a decent sized bass on that threw the hook at the side of the kayak.  Funny thing is on my very first cast, I wasn't used to the extra weight as opposed to the fluke i was using and it went right over a log and got snagged.  I almost bagged it right then lol 

[hatrix]

The size 4 X-Rap is a absolute killer. If your fishing shallows or like a pond ect it works all year. It is just the perfect size of a little minnow. It will catch bluegill and all that cause it's so small. You get a lot of little dinks too that you would never normally catch but big ones will still grab it also. You just have to grind threw the little ones.

[*Hank]

I use an LC pointer all year long.

[Schuyler co]

Having a lot of success with the jerkbait this summer, it's my next progression after the top water bite slows down...shadow rap over weeds in 6-8 feet of water

[Silas]

Floating rattling rogue has been.money a few times this year for me

Years ago on Toledo Bend, in the Spring, the Black back,gold sides, orange belly, Rattlin Rogue was THE bait for catching bass over weed beds.

[Silas]

I use an LC pointer all year long.

Same here with the 78 Pointer in Sexy Shad!

[TwoCan]

Where I live up north we have clear water pretty much all year. If there is wind, I will probably have a jerk bait tied on. In the summer I tend to lean towards floating jerk baits and jerk baits that dive deep. Give it a try, it won't hurt anything and you will have learned something either way.

[FinCulture]

RAPALA SHADOW RAP!!!! Great jerkbait for any summer bass fishing.