C.Tucks Posted Thursday at 06:06 PM Posted Thursday at 06:06 PM 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? Quote
MediumMouthBass Posted Thursday at 06:45 PM Posted Thursday at 06:45 PM 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 + 1 Quote
softwateronly Posted Thursday at 07:19 PM Posted Thursday at 07:19 PM 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 2 Quote
C.Tucks Posted Thursday at 07:47 PM Author Posted Thursday at 07:47 PM 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. Quote
MediumMouthBass Posted Thursday at 08:05 PM Posted Thursday at 08:05 PM 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. 1 Quote
C.Tucks Posted Thursday at 09:15 PM Author Posted Thursday at 09:15 PM 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. 😆 Quote
Super User Dwight Hottle Posted Thursday at 09:31 PM Super User Posted Thursday at 09:31 PM 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. 3 Quote
MediumMouthBass Posted Thursday at 09:38 PM Posted Thursday at 09:38 PM 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. 1 Quote
C.Tucks Posted Thursday at 10:11 PM Author Posted Thursday at 10:11 PM 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 1 Quote
softwateronly Posted Thursday at 10:14 PM Posted Thursday at 10:14 PM 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 2 Quote
txchaser Posted Friday at 03:56 AM Posted Friday at 03:56 AM 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? 1 Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted Friday at 01:57 PM Super User Posted Friday at 01:57 PM 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 Quote
Tim Kelly Posted Friday at 09:16 PM Posted Friday at 09:16 PM Have you tried a spybait? I found them to be excellent smallmouth medicine if you need to get deep. Quote
BassinBrett Posted Saturday at 07:33 PM Posted Saturday at 07:33 PM Lucky craft pointer 78 and 100 XD might get down to 12 plus feet 1 Quote
Super User FishTank Posted Sunday at 12:31 AM Super User Posted Sunday at 12:31 AM 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. 2 Quote
C.Tucks Posted 16 hours ago Author Posted 16 hours ago 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? Quote
Super User FishTank Posted 14 hours ago Super User Posted 14 hours ago 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. 1 Quote
C.Tucks Posted 13 hours ago Author Posted 13 hours ago 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! Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted 9 hours ago Super User Posted 9 hours ago Jerkbaits are my jam ~ Including deep baits A-Jay 1 Quote
Super User FishTank Posted 8 hours ago Super User Posted 8 hours ago 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. 1 Quote
C.Tucks Posted 8 hours ago Author Posted 8 hours ago 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? 1 Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted 8 hours ago Super User Posted 8 hours ago 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 2 Quote
C.Tucks Posted 8 hours ago Author Posted 8 hours ago 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? Quote
Super User FishTank Posted 7 hours ago Super User Posted 7 hours ago 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. Quote
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