Jerkbait Fishin

[Kuenro02]

Hey guys, I'm dedicating my pre-spawn to becoming a better jerkbait fisherman. 100% honest I've never caught a bass on a suspending jerkbait. Picked up a couple KVD jerkbaits and rogue jerkbaits. Read lots of articles and videos and guys talk about snapping on slack line and pausing for 10+ seconds between snaps. My question, how do you feel the bite? Or is it a visual, line watching kind of bite or is it just there when you snap? 

[mrmacwvu1]

From what I have found usually as soon as you go to snap the fish is on and hooked

 

Jerkbait fishing is my favorite type of fishing

 

Let the fish tell you what they want, some time they want those long pauses sometimes they want fast and erratic

 

Another technique is just cast out and reel in

 

good luck

[Kuenro02]

So if they want a 10 second pause and they hit 2 seconds after u snap they'll just be on for 8 seconds before you snap again? This sounds like a dumb question and probably is:)

[MDBowHunter]

Definitely watch the line, but Ive caught a lot of fish that was there when I went to give the rod a jerk. I didn't even really feel or detect a bite they were just there on the jerk. I've also caught a few dead sticking a suspending bait with the rod in the holder casted out the opposite side of the boat. All of a sudden the rod is down, I generally do this with deeper diving baits as being on the opposite side of the boat its generally in deeper water 

[Kuenro02]

Alright, thanks guys. I'll just have to get out and cast. Pumped to try it out, everyone says it's one of the best pre-spawn techniques that I've never really tried. 

[MDBowHunter]

15 minutes ago, Kuenro02 said:

Alright, thanks guys. I'll just have to get out and cast. Pumped to try it out, everyone says it's one of the best pre-spawn techniques that I've never really tried. 

Honestly I have a jerk bait tied to a rod year round, and they work year round.

[mrmacwvu1]

i agree about it being a year round bait

in general the colder the water the longer the pauses

Once you start catching them on jerkbaits you will be as hooked as the fish

[paangler13]

In colder water, I catch a lot more just pulling the bait between pauses. Instead of snapping or jerking the bait, I just reel it in six inches or a foot maybe then pause it. If the water is less than 55 degrees, I start with an 8 second pause, but will go clear up to 20. I looked in my log and last year the best day I had on a jerkbait was early in April, on an X-rap with a 12 second pause!

 

Tight lines!

Jim

[Fishes in trees]

There is a learning curve to jerk bait fishing and frankly, everyone finds their own way, you seldom find 2 guys who have the exactly same notion as to how to fish jerk baits,  tempo, pauses, and so forth.   I've got many different brands of jerk baits, although I have a pointer tied on the majority of the time.   I experiment with weighting them quite a bit and admittedly, I don't have the suspending/weighting thing figured out real well, but I do get bit from time to time.

Having said that, the 2 breakthroughs for me were to A - use spinning gear.   More often than not it is windy when I want to throw jerk baits and I find that spinning gear is easier to deal with in the wind. (Although there is a learning curve to that also)  B - Use some kind of braid.  I currently use 14 lb Fireline Crystal - which is as skinny as 6 lb mono.   More importantly I like the way it shows up on the water.   When I'm on "pause" the line works kind of like a strike indicator, like you'd use if you were fly fishing something sub surface.   Many times, I've seen the strike way before I felt it and if I'd been using fluro or mono or a darker braid that didn't show up against the water well, I probably would have missed that fish.   I use a short foot to foot and a half fluorocarbon leader between the line and the lure.   15 lb Fluorocarbon leader material, that you find in the fly fishing aisle, works best for me for this purpose,    I've read about how guys want their bait to suspend perfectly level on the pause,  my experience is that slightly nose down is just as good and the fluorocarbon leader helps achieve this.

 

[Fishinthefish]

I don't usually snap, jerk or even twitch the bait with the rod tip during 55 and below water tempatures. I usually give it a jerk just by my reeling technique and pausing, that way I never have too much slack in the line and the movement of the bait is a lot less irratic

[Ruiner_]

I love jerkbait fishing.  I've only used Rapala's but I'm hoping to try a few new ones this year. Heck last year I got a 1 lb perch on a jerkbait. They are great for bass.

[Dwight Hottle]

1 hour ago, mrmacwvu1 said:

i agree about it being a year round bait

in general the colder the water the longer the pauses

Once you start catching them on jerkbaits you will be as hooked as the fish

Yes to this.

 

36 minutes ago, paangler13 said:

In colder water, I catch a lot more just pulling the bait between pauses. Instead of snapping or jerking the bait, I just reel it in six inches or a foot maybe then pause it. If the water is less than 55 degrees, I start with an 8 second pause, but will go clear up to 20. I looked in my log and last year the best day I had on a jerkbait was early in April, on an X-rap with a 12 second pause!

 

Tight lines!

Jim

Jim's comment about pulling the bait is spot on. During the cold water period I often just pull the bait with the rod tip for 2-3 feet. Then pause, twitch & pause. Try working the bait with a series of just pulls then try twitching or jerking with pauses in between. The colder the water the less movement you need & the longer you want to pause. The fish will respond to different techniques on different days based on water conditions & their own metabolism. When it is colder water the fish will often hang with the bait before you feel much. Warmer water once the fished metabolism has sped up they will flat out crush it. When you get really proficient with a jerkbait you will often sense the bite before you feel it. There is a ton of info about jerkbaits in this pinned thread in the tackle forum if you have read all of it.

 

 

 

[mrmacwvu1]

dwight you are right

 

i can not tell you how many times i have felt the fish before it actually it the bait

 

it is almost like there is a dead water pressure behind it

[Dwight Hottle]

I love the look on the guys face fishing with me when I tell them I think a fish is looking at my bait & then he sees the rod bent over. It really does happen. Part of the cool factor of fishing jerkbaits. 

[MI.Kayaker]

No need to worry about instant and hard hook sets anyways- they usually hook themselves and only need a sweep-set to stay pinned.

[Manigotapee]

On March 5, 2016 at 9:54 AM, Kuenro02 said:

So if they want a 10 second pause and they hit 2 seconds after u snap they'll just be on for 8 seconds before you snap again? This sounds like a dumb question and probably is:)

Yes, but...

 

its all about listening to the fish. If they are biting at a two count, there is no reason to pause a 10 count between jerks, count to 3 and triple your casts

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Bite detection is no problem. You'll either feel the weight on the next pull or they'll rip it out of your hands. Line watching should go without saying.