What action do you impart on your jerkbaits

[Takemetothebank]

Hi guys I’ve had a tremendous amount of success on jerkbaits this year and purchased my first lure specific combo because of how much year round success I have had on them. I usually use the berkley Stunna and I tend to do really well making the lure do a walk the dog motion back and forth then every 10-12 ft popping the weight transfer bb so it makes the bait fall tail first back to the fish. However watching a tactical bass on video their jerkbaits did just hops forward sitting nose down and it seems those guys really know what they’re doing. Even when I use other baits like rhe Kvds rappala shadow rap and vision 110 I go for that side to side gliding motion. Am have I been fishing this wrong this whole time ? I catch tons of fish on them and they have become a huge confidence bait for me. But am I working them wrong , should I look for a more straight line approach? What do you guys try to make your jerkbaits do 

[PaulVE64]

I pop them and they go where they will.

Normally it's a nose down motion but I can believe a side to side "hunting action" would work.

 

Fact - if you enjoy it and it works, you're doing it right

 

Good luck

[Takemetothebank]

1 minute ago, Takemetothebank said:

Hi guys I’ve had a tremendous amount of success on jerkbaits this year and purchased my first lure specific combo because of how much year round success I have had on them. I usually use the berkley Stunna and I tend to do really well making the lure do a walk the dog motion back and forth then every 10-12 ft popping the weight transfer bb so it makes the bait fall tail first back to the fish. However watching a tactical bass on video their jerkbaits did just hops forward sitting nose down and it seems those guys really know what they’re doing. Even when I use other baits like rhe Kvds rappala shadow rap and vision 110 I go for that side to side gliding motion. Am have I been fishing this wrong this whole time ? I catch tons of fish on them and they have become a huge confidence bait for me. But am I working them wrong , should I look for a more straight line approach? What do you guys try to make your jerkbaits do 

I normally throw

stunnas as a all around first option I keep see through colors for clear water bright see through for muddy water and flashy silvers if I want to make the bait roll and throw off flash 

 

the Rappalas are more finesse and move with lighter twitches almost all of these are natural see throughs 

 

the Kvds for shallow water or if I want to put more umph into the twitches i like natural perch bluegill or solid silhouette shad colors for these 

[Takemetothebank]

1 minute ago, PaulVE64 said:

I pop them and they go where they will.

Normally it's a nose down motion but I can believe a side to side "hunting action" would work.

 

Fact - if you enjoy it and it works, you're doing it right

 

Good luck

Try adding a split ring to the tail hook  so the bait falls back towards chasers when you kill it esp in the summer it is deadly

[Dwight Hottle]

There is no wrong way to work a jerk bait if you are catching fish. The whole idea of a jerk bait is to mimic a bait fish acting erratically or under distress. Walking the dog under water is a proven technique. Watching how your bait responds to inputs beside the boat or bank side will shorten your learning curve as to what looks good. My favorite retrieve for prespawn smallies are short jerks causing the bait to glide left then right,  pausing then incorporating a long sweep or pull to the side covering at least a 90 degree movement. The sweep after the short jerks makes the bait look like it's getting away after floundering in the water. If you want to improve your jerk bait proficiency you need to practice what makes the bait look like its struggling in the water. There is plenty of info found here. 

 

[Deleted account]

Everything from barely twitching them to violently yanking on them and occasionally even dead sticking or cranking them. I don't know if it's right or wrong, and really don't care, fish get it like they want it.

[Glenn]

Top bass pro Mike McClelland built his fishing career on jerkbaits.  I'd take his advice over YouTubers any day. He provides a massive brain dump on jerkbaits in this video:

 

 

[Takemetothebank]

Well this isint a per say right way to fish them for me I feel like 90% of the time summer fall winter spring pre and post spawn If there is a fish atleast semi active I can get them to strike however Im more so just curious what you guys try to make your bait do. I normally go 1-2-3 in a walk the dog action pretty soft popping the slack making the bait go 6 inches then 1-2 with less slack and more of a powerful snap this works really well with the change of small to large movement like I said there’s a million ways to fish them I’m curious on how you guys look to make your baits do 

[softwateronly]

Everything said above makes sense to me.  I mostly hit em on semi slack, with about a foot to foot and half of rod tip movement.  With the slack, the bait is usually moving half to 3/4 that distance.  But if it's cold water, and I think I'm over them, I'll hit it with a lot of slack and usually I get a turn and roll with no lateral distance changed.  Sometimes that calls em up.  I prefer the nose down stance, but that's just because it seems more effective, doesn't mean it's true.  Cadence and violence needed never seem to be the same on different days.  I'll keep throwing at prime areas with different retrieves till I get some confidence in what they're looking for.

 

scott

[TOXIC]

There’s a lot of different techniques and retrieves to a jerkbait.  How I fish it depends on a LOT of factors.  What’s the water temp? What line do I have it on? What species am I fishing for? What are the characteristics of the jerkbait….floating, fast sink, slow sink, deep diving? Water clarity? So, without knowing a lot more about your particulars, there no right answer.  I use everything from the traditional jerk, jerk, pause….to a steady retrieve, to a reel down and let float up, to short pauses to long pauses, to deadsticking and a few more that I’m probably forgetting.  If your technique is working on your water for you then keep it up.?

[WRB]

Before jerk baits they were rip baits. 

Smithwick Rogue, Bomber Long A, Heddon Cobra and the original Rapala Minnow.

We ripped them, twitched them, straight stop n go retrieve but not today’s fast pivoting jerk bait retrieve.

The Daiwa TD Minnow was the 1st modern suspending jerk bait using the faster retrieve and it was deadly.

Lucky Craft followed with the Pointer SP in the early 90’s.

Both of the Japanese jerk baits were 3x the price of earlier lures but they changed how Minnow lures were fished.

If you watch the video Glenn posted or watch KVD or other MLF anglers work jerk baits take notes.

Tom 

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, Takemetothebank said:

 I’m curious on how you guys look to make your baits do 

Some truly golden jerkbait fishing advice offered here already.

I want my bait too look like it's trying to get away, 

but not doing a very good job.

Meaning, it looks like an easy meal; hopefully.

https://youtu.be/yfnYSE-HjIE?t=1795

A-Jay

[LrgmouthShad]

Well there certainly is a lot of great advice here for working a jerkbait. However, if anyone is curious how NOT to work a jerkbait, I’d be happy to demonstrate what I do in trying to catch a fish on one. PM for details

[DogBone_384]

6 hours ago, Takemetothebank said:

have I been fishing this wrong this whole time ? I catch tons of fish on them

You answered your own question.

 

Try different retrieves and the fish will tell you if it’s right or wrong.

[PaulVE64]

8 hours ago, Glenn said:

Top bass pro Mike McClelland built his fishing career on jerkbaits.  I'd take his advice over YouTubers any day. He provides a massive brain dump on jerkbaits in this video:

 

 

BassResource is the best forum.

Thanks Glenn.

[ironbjorn]

I must be a giant potato because I mindlessly twitch, twitch, twitch, pause and it works.

[Takemetothebank]

20 hours ago, WRB said:

Before jerk baits they were rip baits. 

Smithwick Rogue, Bomber Long A, Heddon Cobra and the original Rapala Minnow.

We ripped them, twitched them, straight stop n go retrieve but not today’s fast pivoting jerk bait retrieve.

The Daiwa TD Minnow was the 1st modern suspending jerk bait using the faster retrieve and it was deadly.

Lucky Craft followed with the Pointer SP in the early 90’s.

Both of the Japanese jerk baits were 3x the price of earlier lures but they changed how Minnow lures were fished.

If you watch the video Glenn posted or watch KVD or other MLF anglers work jerk baits take notes.

Tom 

It seems they have a similar looking retrieve to mine but it’s hard to tell what their bait is doing underwater I can make a berkley Stunna do anything I want it too but I personally change up baits to make it easier. With a Stunna like I said i do 3 walk the dog twitches then a pull towards me maybe 1-2 ft then a double twitch going forwards and walk the dog i use this in hot water 55-60+ in hot water I also use the Kvd style rip bait and they need to be worked with much faster action and harder snaps the Kvd to me is a post spawn bait you have to hurt rally hard and work agressively 

 

the rappala or the flash pointer are more of a rolling action when you jerk then also best worked aggressively when you want to drawl fish with flash in fall and sometimes lost spawn 

 

the vision 110family is w great jerkbait made to excell in cold water and this along with the great colors and hefty price tag I don’t use to many of them as I believe the Stunna is a better all around jerkbait it can be hit hard and made to roll fast it can be fished slow and finessy and he’ll you can even put a split ring on the front and back hooks and give the +1 almost a yo yo effect twitching up and too the side in 20 ft of water because of the fast sink 

 

jerkbaits are a big confidence bait for me snd I catch fish year round with them however I saw the tactical guys doing stuff a little different witch is ok I was hoping to learn some new techniques from you guys so thanks for the responses 

[gim]

I have been doing pretty good with jerk baits this season too. I normally consider it more of a prespawn tactic for smallmouth, but even as the water has warmed into the 70+ degree range, I am catching largemouth on them. It’s recently started to get very weedy though so the end may be in sight.

[Revival]

If I had as much success as you with your current technique, I wouldn’t care how anyone else fishes it.  If it works for you, keep doing it.