Jerkbait treble hooks and depth

[tim_kovar]

I got into jerkbait fishing a little bit this year for the first time and have a question regarding the hooks.  I bought a couple lunker hunt brand jerkbaits and although they have awesome action they tend to run a couple feet shallower than I would prefer.  They suspend around that three feet mark.  I was hoping for more around the 5-6' range.  I have heard of people changing out the trebles to get them to change the slow sink/float aspects and I assume you could also get the same effect on how deep they run.  Maybe I should just get deeper running jerkbaits and not mess with it, but wanted to get some input from you guys.

[Logan S]

Swapping to heavier hooks can make it sink, but it's probably going to be too slow to really let you get much deeper unless you were to wait a long time to count it down. 

 

You could try using thinner line...Going from 12lb to 10lb or 10lb to 8lb can make a noticeable difference in diving depth...Although I don't think it would give you the 2 or 3 feet you're looking for unless you were using pretty thick line already (like 15lb+) and dropped to a thin line.

 

Easiest solution would be to get a couple deeper running models to go along with your shallow ones.  

[J Francho]

Storm Suspend Dots were invented for this.

[A-Jay]

@Logan S  and @J Francho beat me to the punch but are no doubt right on the money. 

There's a few things you can do to get more depth from a suspending jerkbait.

First & perhaps the best way to go is to just get deeper running baits.  The SK KVD 300D and the Megabass 110+1 have both been very good for me. 

Next you can adjust your line type & size - 10lb test gets baits a bit deeper than say 12lb and  a quality Fluorocarbon will usually out depth a mono line. 

Then, as you mentioned you can change hooks to something heavier.  This is usually only going to have marginal improvement at best.  And can negate the suspending aspects of a bait if they are too heavy.  You can play with types, sizes & brands to get what you're looking for but it's a somewhat tedious process - been there. (long winters).

btw- if you really want to dial it in - you can even add split ring size to the equation  . . . .

Finally Strom makes Suspendots & Suspend Strips - these are small stick on strips / dots of lead that you apply your bait to get a desired affect.  Again this also takes some time and has a bit of a learning curve getting them positioned / centered just Right.  Mis-aligned weight can & usually does adversely affect the way any bait will run, sit and or suspend. 

Have fun.

A-Jay

[smalljaw67]

In my opinion I'd say just get a deeper running jerkbait. I'm a big jerkbait angler, it is one of my favorite baits and I have a lot of them from just about every brand out there. Larger hooks and hardware as well as adding weight via suspend dots and strips will get you deeper but not without ruining the suspending property. Line type and size will be the best way to get the bait running a little deeper but it isn't going to get you 3', you need a different bait and there are plenty of deeper baits in every price point.

[Deleted account]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

Storm Suspend Dots were invented for this.

repackaged golf club adhesive backed lead strip at 1000% the price. I make my own with a hole punch.

[GReb]

Just have to be careful with jerkbaits. You don’t want to ruin the action and certainly don’t want it suspending nose up or down.

 

Spend a few bucks on several different baits that have differing actions and depth. The beauty with jerkbaits IMO is that you only need 2 or 3 colors. White and something chrome based. Others may disagree but this is my experience 

[tim_kovar]

25 minutes ago, GReb said:

Just have to be careful with jerkbaits. You don’t want to ruin the action and certainly don’t want it suspending nose up or down.

 

Spend a few bucks on several different baits that have differing actions and depth. The beauty with jerkbaits IMO is that you only need 2 or 3 colors. White and something chrome based. Others may disagree but this is my experience 

Yeah that was my concern with modifying things. 

 

Thanks for all the other feedback too guys.  For the record I have been using 14 lb fluorocarbon, so perhaps dropping down will help a little.

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, reason said:

repackaged golf club adhesive backed lead strip at 1000% the price. I make my own with a hole punch.

It's $6 for more than you'd ever need in a year, lol.  I'd never use a 100' roll of the stuff, so there's no savings.  I only buy in bulk when I use in bulk.