Jerkbait specifics

[Craw]

Here lately I've been obsessed with these baits. I've ran the search engine here and read everything I could find, pm'd a few of our members and sifted through every magazine I own to soak up anything I can about these lures. Not to mention all the fishing I've been doing with these things for the last month or so. Been having so much fun with these things it's hard to put them down. I wanted to put a question out there to you guys who have been using jerkbaits for awhile. I understand that the fish may respond better to a particular jerkbait on a given day for no rhyme or reason but I think that generally speaking, certain baits have a built in action(or lack of) that makes them more appealing in certain conditions. As I understand it, a more aggressive model is usually called for in warmer water and a subtle action in colder water. While I understand much of this is controlled by our retrieve I also know that different lures will have different actions even when retrieved the same. This finally leads me to my questions. Which models are more aggressive? Which ones are less aggressive? Surely the xrap is inherently more aggressive than a husky jerk. Where would a pointer or a rogue fit into this hierarchy? Since the water is only going to get colder, is there a particular model bait that performs consistently well in the coldest water temps. If I listed 5 different baits, how would you rank them in terms of action?

1-xrap

2-pointer

3-staysee

4-rogue

5-husky jerk

Can this even be done considering all the variables with size or running depth? Am I leaving out any important baits I should be considering? Anything you folks can tell me would be great. Sorry this post is so long but as I stated earlier, I'm obsessed!

[justfishin]

For cold water say, 45-52 I would go with a no. 10 or 12 suspending Huskey Jerk or maybe even a down deep Husky Jerk which will run about 8-10' after you wind it down on #8 test. It depends. They work. I like to throw them on a 6' spinning rod---M to MH on #8 test with a twitch,twitch, paussssssssssssssssse until you can't stand it retrieve but, let the fish tell you what they want.

[Gatorbassman]

This is a great question. It really has got me wanting to take out all of my jerkbait and study their action. I wish I had an answer for ya but I don't.

I can give a little tip though. Always count the number of seconds in the pause. When the fish hits it, remember how long your pause was and duplicate it and you should start picking up more fish.

[roadwarrior]

A couple of weeks ago I fished Kentucky Lake with "A Southern Gentleman," Bud Jenkins. I didn't fair too well, but Bud got several bites and landed a 4 3/4 lb largemouth right off the bat with a white Pointer 100. The next day Bud had some success with an X-Rap. My observation is that the specific lure selection was NOT important. It was all about the location, presentation and the color of the lure.

I fish all of the jerkbaits you listed. They are all VERY productive. I tend to use Lucky Craft more often just because they tend to perform flawlessly, but all of these jerkbaits will catch bass, walley and trout.

[senile1]

This is a great question. It really has got me wanting to take out all of my jerkbait and study their action. I wish I had an answer for ya but I don't.

I can give a little tip though. Always count the number of seconds in the pause. When the fish hits it, remember how long your pause was and duplicate it and you should start picking up more fish.

I agree.  This is an intriguing question.  I use Rogues, Husky Jerks, and X-Raps the most but the Pointers are coming.  I've noticed the differences in action of these lures, but I've never thought about which would be best for colder water.  

[.ghoti.]

Interesting question. You got me thinking, always a dangerous proposition. I can't comment on the LC baits, but I use the rest of them you listed. My approach has always been the colder the water, the longer the pause. And, with long pauses being required, I believe this is one of the times that color plays a larger role. I'll always try to use colors to match available forage.

As far as selection goes, I'll try out several different baits to see how they suspend. As the water temp drops the water becomes more dense, changing the way different baits suspend. In warmer water just about any of the suspending baits will work, as long as they don't sink. A slow rise is ok because you're not pausing the bait that long. But when you need to pause for extended periods, I think you need a bait that will stay where you left it. My solution is to try different baits until I find one that will sit still. Probably not the best approach, but it seems to work for me. Also, the baits that won't hang in a horizontal orientation won't get bit as often. At least that's been my experience.

In terms of action, I think you have the baits in the correct order, ignoring the LC baits, because I have no experience with them.

Of the other 3 baits you listed, I use the X-Rap most, the Husky jerk the least. I have a lot of confidence in the X-Rap, even in the coldest water.

I leave you with a different list. These are, I think the factors to consider when jerking in cold water.

1. Depth. Always the critical factor. Maybe even more so in cold water.

2. Suspending. They have to sit still, horizontally

3. Speed, or the lack thereof.

4. Size. I'll usually start out on the large end of the scale and work my way down.

5. Color. In my area, that means a bait the looks like either a shad, bluegill or small bass.

I like jerkbaits in the spring, so I'll now have another thing to experiment with next year. A few Pointers are on my list of things to get soon. I'm ready for spring NOW.

Good luck,

GK

[GAMEOVER]

I highly recommend the Rapala Husky Jerks and X-Raps to start out with til you get more familiar with the bait class. After you build your confidence up with those get yourself a few Lucky Craft Pointer 100SPs and my personal favorite the Lucky Craft Live Pointer 95MR. With the 95MRs you get a perfectly sized bait, lots of action, and can be fished just about anyway you can think of yet still catch fish. If you do better with the Lucky Crafts step up to some MegaBass offerings. The X-Rap (XR-8/XR-10) are the absolute best bang for the buck on the market that ive come across. Their finishes are extremely durable as well as they are protected by an outer "shell". Youll really love the X-Raps.. expect to see you buying quite a few of them. The Olive Green is my favorite of them all. Of all the Jerkbaits I mentioned though nothing has caught me more of both Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass at the same time then the Lucky Craft Live Pointer 95MR.

[MALTESE FALCON]

OF THE FIVE YOU MENTIONED, I HAVE ONLY TRIED THE X-RAP AND HUSKY JERK. THE X-RAP DEFINATELY HAS THE MOST AGGRESSIVE ACTION.

I HAVE A FEW POINTERS IN MY FUTURE SO IN THE SPRING I WILL BE ABLE TO GIVE A MORE ACCURATE EVALUATION. MY ONLY PROBLEM IS TRYING TO MAKE UP MY MIND WHAT COLORS TO GET. IF THEY WORK AS GOOD AS GOOD AS THEY LOOK, THE X-RAP MIGHT HAVE TO MOVE OVER AS MY FAVORITE JERKBAIT.

[GAMEOVER]

For X-Raps my favorite color is Olive Green..

For Lucky Craft Live Pointer 95MRs my favorite colors are Original Tennessee Shad, Rootbeer Brown, Chartreuse Green Root Beer, Pearl Ayu, and Northern Large Mouth Bass also love their Bloody Shad.

For Megabass, the Ito Vision 95s are my personal top-of-the-line that I use but rarely as they're super hard for me to replace but my favorite colors in these are AL. Kisyu Ayu, NC Ayu, and PM. Iwana.

Im a hardcore fanatic of baits and some other stuff that comes from Yuki Ito's Megabass and ITO Engineering.

[5bass]

I have had pretty good success with a Storm Jr. Thunderstick (suspending) in cold water and especially in rivers.....the river you fish is one of those.

Other than the Jr Thunderstick,I like KVD's Wild Shiner also in cold water.It's bigger than the T'Stick Jr but has great action whether you fish it fast or slow.As with most other jerkbaits,you can control the aggresive action with the speed you jerk and pause.I really like the Pointer 78 in cold water too and I feel its the best for deadsticking.Even the slightest twitch on a Pointer makes it quiver.

[cart7t]

I'm not that big on brands, I think it's like RW said, location and presentation.

I primarily use Rogues in the 4 1/2 and 5 1/4" sizes

Husky Jerks

and a Berkely bait I thinks it's called the finesse minnow. It's a smaller, more compact bait.  I really like the action on it.  I decided to buy a few after getting one with my bass renewal and catching some fish with it.