Jerkbait color & depth...

[OkobojiEagle]

hard jerkbaits, any brand, assuming 0 - 12 feet... Does your confidence color or pattern change based solely on the depth you are fishing it?

 

oe

[Bluebasser86]

Depth, no. Water clarity is my main factor, followed by if it's cloudy or sunny.

[ww2farmer]

40 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Depth, no. Water clarity is my main factor, followed by if it's cloudy or sunny.

 

This.....^^^^

 

I also am a strong believer in keeping a bait a good amount over their heads. So the very deep diving jerkbaits have never really appealed to me. I can get them to come up, and from a long ways away....often time out of nothing more than sheer curiosity and get more bites that way, as opposed to having one right in their faces, even in the coldest water I fish. And if you get a bait that runs under them.....forget it, you have a higher chance of winning the lottery, then them going down to get it. So keep that in mind if your fishing...say 12-15 feet of water and thinking you need a jerkbait that gets down that deep....it's still better IMHO to use one that stays higher than that.

[Mr. Aquarium]

What’s the deepest you would fish a jerkbait?  

[A-Jay]

While I have had quite a bit of success presenting a jerkbait in the manner @ww2farmer

describes so well above, I have also had equal and perhaps even more success  with what may be the polar opposite approach.

In the more cooler water temps, when the biggest brown bass I'm fishing for are still a bit on the sluggish side, fishing my jerkbait low & slow is deadly.

This can be especially effective when the bass FIRST more in to shallower water (relative term), say 10 feet of less.  Clearly some can & will come up for a bait, but they will also hunt down & choke a bait slow stroked right off the bottom.

They still have to 'chase it' but if they can do so with out going 'up', that can be the deal. 

So my 'color' choice here goes one of two ways;

either I want my bait to Almost match the color of the bottom, but perhaps with just a little splash of color.  The other deal is to go completely the other way and use bright stuff; Clown color for instance. 

On dark bottoms, perch works for me and on a light or sand colored bottom, Ayu is my first choice. 

btw - in skinny clear water, a silent bait can be magic; just wish they made more & they casted better.

A-Jay

[roadwarrior]

Man, if you had been selling that lot for $85 I would have been first in line!

 

[A-Jay]

7 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Man, if you had been selling that lot for $85 I would have been first in line!

 

Not a Chance.

That's The "A" team.

In May, I sleep with them.

A-Jay

[GetFishorDieTryin]

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

While I have had quite a bit of success presenting a jerkbait in the manner @ww2farmer

describes so well above, I have also had equal and perhaps even more success  with what may be the polar opposite approach.

In the more cooler water temps, when the biggest brown bass I'm fishing for are still a bit on the sluggish side, fishing my jerkbait low & slow is deadly.

This can be especially effective when the bass FIRST more in to shallower water (relative term), say 10 feet of less.  Clearly some can & will come up for a bait, but they will also hunt down & choke a bait slow stroked right off the bottom.

They still have to 'chase it' but if they can do so with out going 'up', that can be the deal. 

So my 'color' choice here goes one of two ways;

either I want my bait to Almost match the color of the bottom, but perhaps with just a little splash of color.  The other deal is to go completely the other way and use bright stuff; Clown color for instance. 

On dark bottoms, perch works for me and on a light or sand colored bottom, Ayu is my first choice. 

btw - in skinny clear water, a silent bait can be magic; just wish they made more & they casted better.

A-Jay

Ive found the same to be true with LMB in cold water.  There are times when fish are actively feeding and they will cover some ground to get to a bait, but the majority of the time they aren't very aggressive in cold water.  The closer the JB is to the fish the more likely they are to take a shot at it.  

 

When your pausing for 8 or 12 seconds the fish get a good look at the bait.  So if the waters clear and the sun is out I like to use ghost colors with a little flash, like clear laker or komochi wakasagi.  If they are just slapping at it ill go to an all ghost color and maybe even downsize the JB.  In cloud cover ill go to more opaque or matte colors.  I use matte and opaque colors when I'm fishing deep, because there isn't as much light deep as there is shallow. 

 

[gim]

22 hours ago, ww2farmer said:

And if you get a bait that runs under them.....forget it, you have a higher chance of winning the lottery, then them going down to get it.

 

 

22 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Clearly some can & will come up for a bait, but they will also hunt down & choke a bait slow stroked right off the bottom.

They still have to 'chase it' but if they can do so with out going 'up', that can be the deal. 

I think what he was trying to get at is that they won’t go downward to get it. I do think if they are on or near the bottom and you have presented a jerk bait on or near the bottom, they would take it. But if the jerk bait is presented below one, I think he’s right since fish can’t see downward. Like if they are suspended chasing bait and you run one below them.

[RoLo]

 

In Florida, most bass will be found in 3 to 6 ft of water, even in the dead of winter.

In this scenario, a jerkbait that dependably dives to 6 feet is my choice (Lucky Craft Pointer 110SP). In very shallow water, the jerking may begin after splashdown.

 

I throw one color pattern exclusively, because it gives me a false sense of confidence,

Realistically, I’m not aware of any colors or patterns that would give me a tangible edge.

 

Roger

[jimmyjoe]

9 hours ago, A-Jay said:

In May, I sleep with them.

 

   I bet that can be painful!    ???     jj

[OkobojiEagle]

Metallic flash or ghost patterns in shallow depths... opaque and more "perchy" patterns deeper.

 

oe

18 hours ago, Rusty_Shackleford said:

I use matte and opaque colors when I'm fishing deep, because there isn't as much light deep as there is shallow. 

 

+1

[Teal]

I dont correlate color with depth.  However, I do try to match the hatch which is what we do.  

 

Typically I want the jerkbait above or at level with the fish.  Not below.  

[Hook2Jaw]

I run the @Bluebasser86 method based off water clarity and light penetration for all my hard baits.  Clear water gets a ghost pattern, stained to dirty water gets a bold, solid pattern that's often white or chartreuse.  Overcast days get a reflective finish.

 

So, I've got three colors of H2O Xpress Ultimate Jerk Shads, three colors of Jackall Rerange 110s and MRS.

 

I catch fish.  Color selection can be as simple or complicated as one prefers.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

23 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

 

I think what he was trying to get at is that they won’t go downward to get it. I do think if they are on or near the bottom and you have presented a jerk bait on or near the bottom, they would take it. But if the jerk bait is presented below one, I think he’s right since fish can’t see downward. Like if they are suspended chasing bait and you run one below them.

I think it depends on the situation and how far they have to go.  An inactive fish may not even acknowledge it, where an active fish may cover 30 or 40ft to get to it.  1 thing is for sure, they know where that bait is without having to see it.  Kind of like a dog on point, he may not see the bird, but he knows it right there. 

I saw a clip on Bass U recently where KVD explains how he was fishing a tourney in chocolate milk colored water and he was throwing a spinnerbait or something with thump and presence, but his Japanese co angler was throwing a 3.5 or 4" natural colored worm on a DS and whooping him.