Deep Diving Jerk Baits

[C.Tucks]

Wondering what yours thoughts and recommendations are for deep diving jerkbaits (12ft+) like the Vision 110 +2. 
 

The lakes I fish for smallies have lots of transition zones and flats in the 15-20ft range.  I feel that a jerk bait that can get down deeper and suspend closer to the bottom will produce more bites in these areas than 8-10 ft divers. 
 

I’m just not sure I can justify spending $35cdn for a 110+2.
Has anyone had more success with one vs a +1 depth bait? Are there cheaper alternatives? Is this the bait monkey talking? 

[MediumMouthBass]

Rapala X Rap Deep

Rapala Husky Jerk Down Deep

Rapala Mavrik Deep

Strike King KVD 300 Deep

Yo Zuri 3DB Deep

Berkley Stunna 112/110 +

 

 

[softwateronly]

Nishine Erie 115 MD.  Has an outer weight that can be set to a slow sink.  Easily works 15-18 fow.  Same price as MB unfortunately, but definitely the deepest hard jerkbait I've used.  The 95mm MD doesn't quite work as deep and you'd need to weight it yourself, my guess is 13' ish.

 

scott

 

[C.Tucks]

1 hour ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Rapala X Rap Deep

Rapala Husky Jerk Down Deep

Rapala Mavrik Deep

Strike King KVD 300 Deep

Yo Zuri 3DB Deep

Berkley Stunna 112/110 +

 

 

To my understanding those are all 8-10 ft runners? I’m thinking more 12–16 range.

[MediumMouthBass]

3 hours ago, C.Tucks said:

To my understanding those are all 8-10 ft runners? I’m thinking more 12–16 range.

Xrap Deep size 10 varies from 6'-15' depending on what line used.

Husky Jerk Down Deep varies from 10'-20' depending on what size you get.

The others i mentioned have much nicer profiles and colors so when adding lead wire around the hooks or something like a suspend dot you will have a nice jerkbait much cheaper than a Megabass that goes to that 12-16' range.

[C.Tucks]

On 2/6/2025 at 12:05 PM, MediumMouthBass said:

Xrap Deep size 10 varies from 6'-15' depending on what line used.

Husky Jerk Down Deep varies from 10'-20' depending on what size you get.

The others i mentioned have much nicer profiles and colors so when adding lead wire around the hooks or something like a suspend dot you will have a nice jerkbait much cheaper than a Megabass that goes to that 12-16' range.

Makes sense. Thank you for the replies. 
Do you have any experience with how much suspendots and lead wire affect the action of the bait? I’ve always just run them as is out of the box. 

 😆

[Dwight Hottle]

If you want to add 5 feet of depth to your deep diving jerk baits reduce the line size to a smaller diameter & increase the length of line out. For example 10lb braid or 8lb braid will get the baits deeper as you reduce the line diameter. Longer casts or strolling with longer leads will help too. I can hit bottom in 18-20 fow with a deep diving husky jerk or Smithwick deep diver using 10lb braid & 150 feet of line out. You can also use Nishine weights added to your split rings.   

[MediumMouthBass]

3 hours ago, C.Tucks said:

Do you have any experience with how much suspendots and lead wire affect the action of the bait? I’ve always just run them as is out of the box. 

I only have experience with lead wire, as i "borrow" it from my fly tying shelf. Havent tried suspendots yet but have heard good things about it on here, however i trust lead wire much more. Since the dots can and will fall off eventually.

I havent noticed or heard anyone talk about the action changing since the bill/design of the bait is what makes that happen, only thing that i know will change is how fast it will or wont sink.

Theres many different sizes for lead wire, and since each lure is made differently, and some jerkbaits are sinking/floating/suspending among some going down faster/slower in different water temps theres no 1 size fits all approach for it. Only trial and error.

 

I find that many deep diving jerkbaits arent to my liking, they are either too expensive or not the best looking.... Adding lead to my mid diving favorites seems to be the way to go for me.

[C.Tucks]

32 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

I only have experience with lead wire, as i "borrow" it from my fly tying shelf. Havent tried suspendots yet but have heard good things about it on here, however i trust lead wire much more. Since the dots can and will fall off eventually.

I havent noticed or heard anyone talk about the action changing since the bill/design of the bait is what makes that happen, only thing that i know will change is how fast it will or wont sink.

Theres many different sizes for lead wire, and since each lure is made differently, and some jerkbaits are sinking/floating/suspending among some going down faster/slower in different water temps theres no 1 size fits all approach for it. Only trial and error.

 

I find that many deep diving jerkbaits arent to my liking, they are either too expensive or not the best looking.... Adding lead to my mid diving favorites seems to be the way to go for me.

Thanks for this

…..and down the rabbit hole I go

[softwateronly]

Lead wire on glides for me.  But with smaller jerkbait hooks, hanging these or even tiny swivels from the front hook ring has worked for me.

 

scott

 

 

 

[txchaser]

Paging @A-Jay didn't you retire all your +2's because you weren't getting good results using a jerkbait when the fish were that deep? 

[A-Jay]

10 hours ago, txchaser said:

Paging @A-Jay didn't you retire all your +2's because you weren't getting good results using a jerkbait when the fish were that deep? 

 

Sold them

 

[Tim Kelly]

Have you tried a spybait? I found them to be excellent smallmouth medicine if you need to get deep.

[BassinBrett]

Lucky craft pointer 78 and 100 XD might get down to 12 plus feet 

[FishTank]

I use a 110 +2 in early spring and late fall/winter and have had good luck. I don't jerk them like I do a regular 110. I pop them very softly on a stop and go retrieve, sometimes pausing for about 10-15 secs.  I can't remember who or where I saw this retrieve but I was almost ready to give up on it and this ended up working well for me. 

[C.Tucks]

On 2/7/2025 at 1:16 PM, Tim Kelly said:

Have you tried a spybait? I found them to be excellent smallmouth medicine if you need to get deep.

I have one in my arsenal but it always gets pushed aside for other options. I might have to give it some more reps this year

On 2/8/2025 at 4:31 PM, FishTank said:

I use a 110 +2 in early spring and late fall/winter and have had good luck. I don't jerk them like I a do a regular 110. I pop them very softly on a stop and go retrieve, sometimes pausing for about 10-15 secs.  I can't remember who or where I saw this retrieve but I was almost ready to give up on it and this ended up working well for me. 

Have you found them to work at times when a 110 or +1 isn’t doing the trick? Or do you think the fish that you’re catching would come the extra few feet for a shallower running bait?

[FishTank]

1 hour ago, C.Tucks said:

I have one in my arsenal but it always gets pushed aside for other options. I might have to give it some more reps this year

Have you found them to work at times when a 110 or +1 isn’t doing the trick? Or do you think the fish that you’re catching would come the extra few feet for a shallower running bait?

 

When I use the +2, I'm targeting fish in deeper water, around 20+ feet. So if go with the +1 at that depth, the fish need to be holding around 10-15 feet. For the +2, I'm going for fish that are holding in 15+ feet or deeper. This is just a guide line for me. It just depends on where I find them. Again, my retrieve with the +2 is almost like a crankbait but is actually more like how I retrieve a shad rap. In away, I could probably troll with the +2. 

 

My favorite colors are Pro Blue/Elgey Bone and GP Pro Perch. 

 

 

[C.Tucks]

24 minutes ago, FishTank said:

 

When I use the +2, I'm targeting fish in deeper water, around 20+ feet. So if go with the +1 at that depth, the fish need to be holding around 10-15 feet. For the +2, I'm going for fish that are holding in 15+ feet or deeper. This is just a guide line for me. It just depends on where I find them. Again, my retrieve with the +2 is almost like a crankbait but is actually more like how I retrieve a shad rap. In away, I could probably troll with the +2. 

 

My favorite colors are Pro Blue/Elgey Bone and GP Pro Perch. 

 

 

Awesome, thanks!

[A-Jay]

Jerkbaits are my jam ~

Including deep baits

A-Jay

[FishTank]

4 hours ago, C.Tucks said:

Awesome, thanks!

 

I want to also add this.... the +2 110 is not my go to for regular jerkbait fishing. It's just one I like to fish under the right conditions. The 110jr +1 has been working the best for me as of late (past 2-3 seasons) and I can fish this bait pretty much all year, followed by the regular 110 and 110 +1.  I have certain spots on a few lakes where the +2 is usually the answer but once the water temps hit about 65-70 degrees, the +2 slows down and I go to small, mid to deep diving crankbaits.  

 

Another Megabass jerkbait I like to fish is the 110R +1. I fish this in about 6-8 feet of water. It seems to do well around rocks. 

[C.Tucks]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Jerkbaits are my jam ~

Including deep baits

A-Jay

That is some serious jerk bait eye candy 🤤

If you had only one to fish I assume it’d be a perch pattern? 

[A-Jay]

23 minutes ago, C.Tucks said:

That is some serious jerk bait eye candy 🤤

If you had only one to fish I assume it’d be a perch pattern? 

Thanks ~ The Perch is a solid producer.

As for I candy,

the baits are OK 

but the real eye candy has scales.

A-Jay

[C.Tucks]

40 minutes ago, FishTank said:

 

I want to also add this.... the +2 110 is not my go to for regular jerkbait fishing. It's just one I like to fish under the right conditions. The 110jr +1 has been working the best for me as of late (past 2-3 seasons) and I can fish this bait pretty much all year, followed by the regular 110 and 110 +1.  I have certain spots on a few lakes where the +2 is usually the answer but once the water temps hit about 65-70 degrees, the +2 slows down and I go to small, mid to deep diving crankbaits.  

 

Another Megabass jerkbait I like to fish is the 110R +1. I fish this in about 6-8 feet of water. It seems to do well around rocks. 

So basically, the +2 can be an effective tool under certain conditions but the +1 is a more versatile bait. 
Do you feel the +2 has caught you fish that the +1 wouldn’t have? 

[FishTank]

18 minutes ago, C.Tucks said:

So basically, the +2 can be an effective tool under certain conditions but the +1 is a more versatile bait. 
Do you feel the +2 has caught you fish that the +1 wouldn’t have? 

I have definitely caught more fish on the +1 so it would be way more productive. The +2 is for those deep spots, like the edge of a point, running on a ledge or an offshore rock pile. In those spots with colder water, the +2 is where I start but in those same spots I could probably throw a deep diving crankbait. The advantage is the +2 will suspend and pause, depending on water temp, while a crankbait, for the most part, will float back up much quicker.

 

Also, if I don't intend to hit those spots or if the fish just aren't there, I won't throw the +2 and I will go with the 110jr +1 and then the regular +1.  If I am in shallow water then it's the regular 110.