Milliken's jerkbait

[Team9nine]

I don't believe anyone has mentioned this yet, but I found this picture online of the jerkbait Milliken was using at the TB Elite Series event and found it interesting - no split rings. All trebles attached via heavy braid. I'd guess this is to try and minimize the chances of a bass throwing or torquing the bait out of his mouth, similar to the treble arrangement guys use on some swimbaits.

 

Anybody else done or tried this?

 

 

[Catt]

Interesting 😉 

[Pat Brown]

He's trying to change the weight of the bait so that it slowly rises or sinks more slowly or suspends perfectly nose down. There's a lot of fun stuff you can do with jerk baits in this realm. None of them actually truly suspend and the ones that float can easily be made to sink and the ones that sink can easily be made to float.

[Team9nine]

12 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

He's trying to change the weight of the bait so that it slowly rises or sinks more slowly or suspends perfectly nose down. There's a lot of fun stuff you can do with jerk baits in this realm. None of them actually truly suspend and the ones that float can easily be made to sink and the ones that sink can easily be made to float.

 

With all the lead on that front treble, I could see nose down intentions. But then why remove that split ring, also? Just remove the back two and leave the front on, or even add a second one. Could probably get away with a little less lead wrap around the front hook that way, which would also help hooking percentage for that hook in my mind by not filling the gap as much. The braid connection on that front treble is longer, too. Coincidence or intentional? I'm thinking maybe a combination of the two theories - leverage plus specific buoyancy/tilt/presentation.

[Pat Brown]

Could be a sinking model that he wants to sink more slowly.

 

Or a floating model that he wants to float more quickly.

[Dogface]

Could be he posted that to mislead us. If I had a "true" secret modification of a lure I would never let anyone get a photo.  

[5by3]

I’ve seen this done with blade baits before to help with minimizing lost fish do to the fish getting more leverage with traditional hooks/split rings. Not sure if that’s what he was going for here though.

[softwateronly]

He's showed this before on his youtube channel, but I can't find it.  I think he's past keeping it a secret.  My memory says it was to reduce leverage while fighting fish and the lead was for depth control and posture just like @Team9nine alluded.  

 

scott

[A-Jay]

7 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Anybody else done or tried this?

Nope - never have, never will.

 I get plenty of bites and just don't lose fish on jerkbaits

nearly enough to even think about changing anything.

"One of the problems with fishing is too much knowledge.

When people have too much knowledge,

then they get to emphasizing little details way beyond where they should be."

Seem applicable here.

A-Jay

 

[Born 2 fish]

The reason for the braid is so the hooks can twist 360 and the fish have less chance of throwing the hook due to lack of leverage. I’ve done it on big swimbaits but not little ones.

[fin]

7 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Anybody else done or tried this?

 

I haven't yet, but I have some that I'd like to lighten up a little. I may give it a try.

 

The longer connection on the front hook makes me wonder if he understands something I don't, but when I look at the sloppy job he did on the lead, it makes me think the longer connection is unintentional.

[JediAmoeba]

A lot of the swimbait guys do this - swimbaits have mostly moved to rotating hook hangers so you see this much less.

[rangerjockey]

He's a knucklehead either way. I don't see anything revolutionary. 

The braid in place of a split ring has been around a while,

I'm personally too lazy to do it but  I can see it working . 

[Mbirdsley]

i’m kinda interested in the small lead wire he has on that front treble.  could it just be solder or what would that kind of lead be called ? 

[rangerjockey]

24 minutes ago, Mbirdsley said:

i’m kinda interested in the small lead wire he has on that front treble.  could it just be solder or what would that kind of lead be called ? 

You can use solder. I buy the rolls of lead wire. at the fly fishing shop. 

[Reel]

You can buy this lead wire in  little spools in the fly section of a fishing tackle store.  I use the heavy gauge 0,30.  I use it to weight my soft jerkbait hooks.  It's easier to get an even lay and you can put more wire in certain places to get the right attitude.

[fin]

The more I think about that front hook hanging lower, I wonder if it might be like a trailer hook or assist hooks, getting the hook further away from the body and the lip to get a better chance to get that hook in the fish. I’m trying to remember how many times I’ve had the front hook on a three treble jerkbait get in the fish. It’s not something I pay attention to, but my best recollection is it’s not often.

 

What kind of knot do you swimbait guys use to tie on hooks with braid?

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Braid split rings, I've done with success. Quietens the bait down drastically and improves leverage in fighting the fish. 

 

Lead around the front? Must be a ffs thing 😆 

[JediAmoeba]

1 hour ago, NittyGrittyBoy said:

Braid split rings, I've done with success. Quietens the bait down drastically and improves leverage in fighting the fish. 

 

Lead around the front? Must be a ffs thing 😆 

He's not sponsored by berkley so couldn't throw a Krej.  

[Munkin]

Lead wrapped around the trebles is from way back before they made suspending jerkbaits. 

 

What bait is that anyway? Looks like a MB X-70 to me?

 

Allen

[ABrugs]

I’m pretty sure it’s the 6th Sense Provoke 97X.

[Phelptwan]

For some reason I can't imagine that lasting long around the more toothy critters in my waters.

[fin]

I just got finished tying my first braid rings going by Ott's instructions, and if Milliken ties his the same way, there's no way he could end up with a larger loop on the first hook. So that larger loop is  either intentional or he ties it a different way than Ott.

 

 

[DinkDonkey30]

That’s a 6th sense provoke jerk bait. The led is to control the bait suspension. The treble being longer has to do with hookup ratio tuning in to how fish are striking the lure, and lure presentation, Milken, Ikonellie, Wheeler and a few others have talked about this on YouTube in depth. 

[rangerjockey]

On 2/28/2024 at 3:31 PM, Munkin said:

Lead wrapped around the trebles is from way back before they made suspending jerkbaits. 

 

What bait is that anyway? Looks like a MB X-70 to me?

 

Allen

100%. The stickbait was invented here in the Ozarks on Table rock and Bull Shoals. They used the old Floating Rapalas and drilled them to add shot and epoxied the holes shut and also added wire to the hook shanks. 

There was a art to it and the Rapalas were hard to get. I remember when I was a kid a couple of marinas used to actually rent them.