Stickbait help!

[RobbyZ5001]

I have fished for trout way before bass and I learned a ton from it. I would like to use what I learned for trout for bass with jerkbaits. With trout I always fish little stick baits rapalas like the CD-7 and Yo Zuri pins minnow. I am very good at working trout over with stick baits floating and diving. The best technique I make is very fast short snaps and makes the bait have a ton of motion but barely moving it. Will this work with the pointers for bass? I think working trout over was easier then bass will be because I can see the trout and how they react to everything. What motions do you do best on? Also can you give me any sitiuations where you would KNOW without a doubt to throw a stick bait. I know Pointers are well known and widely used, any others you can suggest?

[Tin]

Whenever I find bait stacked upat the end of a point in water under 50* I go to a jerkbait. Either a Pointer 78DD or a good old Husky Jerk. As for motions, let the fish tell you. My most productive is the 3 fast snaps followed by a couple second pause. But some times pause longer, snap it slower, or dont snap it at all, reel it down to its maximum depth and pause it, then reel a little pause.

[Guest muddy]

I like to use the Original Floating Rapala and the Jointed Rapala, both in size 11, silver

I like to use the jointed when the water is choppy

I use 2 different retrieves most of the time

Cast it , let it sit then use a series of twuitches and stop and go all theway back

With the Jointed: if yiou hold your rod tip high , you can twitch it and on the chop it looks like a wounded minnow rolling and can be deadly on certain days, particulary in low light situations

[Tokyo Tony]

Probably my favorite techniqe for bass, especially smallmouths, but it works for LMB as well, is a jerkbait.  When they're active, work it really fast and erratically - it really draws them out and you'd be surprised how fast you can work it and still get bit often.  *Generally speaking* as they become more inactive, slow your retrieve and increase the pauses in between the jerks.  But I just love slammin' tons of them on a jerkbait when they're active.

I just LOVE: twitch twitch twitch twitch pause twitch twi....SLAM!  Spring can't come soon enough  :-/

[roadwarrior]

The Pointers are great jerkbaits.

I would also recommend the Rapala Husky Jerk and X-Rap.

[RobbyZ5001]

Tin2Win what does 50* mean? Does this mean depth,slope or temp?

[Tin]

50 degree water. Sorry.

In a lot of RI lakes most fish winter at the end of long shallow points that have a real drop at the end of them. And as soon as the water gets out of the 30's and the 40-50 degree range they move up onto the top of that drop on the point, all I do is just throw the jerkbait around that drop and hang on.

[basser89]

Smithwick Rattlin Rogues are my go to jerkbait but I also use Bass Pro's as well. I mainly thrown them for smallies but walleye and muskies seem to like them too. In warmer water conditions, the more irractic the better! In cooler water, a pull-pause retrieve has been productive for me.

[roadwarrior]

No doubt, Rogues are very productive, but if you go that route, you need to test them before fishing the lure. I would also recommend buying them locally so the ones that are defective or become defective can be returned. Although I still have a pretty large collection, I rarely fish these jerkbaits. The balancing system in the LC Pointer and Rapala X-Rap make them a far superior product.

[Tin]

No doubt, Rogues are very productive, but if you go that route, you need to test them before fishing the lure. I would also recommend buying them locally so the ones that are defective or become defective can be returned. Although I still have a pretty large collection, I rarely fish these jerkbaits. The balancing system in the LC Pointer and Rapala X-Rap make them a far superior product.

x2             Nothing against them but thats why I stopped buying them. Got sick of playing with Suspendots and such. I would rather spend the $9 for a product I know suspends and has better color options. It is the only LC bait I will through out the money for, there suspending jerkbaits are second to none.

[RobbyZ5001]

Can you guys reccomend a stand by size and color? Also in the modication thread it shows that many of you have grinded down the bill? Is this something I should try as a newbie to stickbaits?

[Tin]

Whats depths are you fishing? What is the type and average size of forage is in the lake? Water clarity? I would recommend against it unless someone shows you how because you can ruin a $15 bait.

[roadwarrior]

The "standard size" LC is the 100.

The original X-Rap is 08 ( 3 1/8" 1/4 oz).

The Husky Jerk I prefer is HJ14 (5 1/2" 1/2 oz).

No modifications required or suggested.

[RobbyZ5001]

Well for my home lake Beltzville the size of the alfewife shad is about 2-3 inches. I was looking for something I could use in every lake not exactly lake specific. The depth was one of things i've been wondering about. What depth do you usually fish them in? This is for fish that arn't suspended. I saw the deep diver goes 8 feet.

[roadwarrior]

Well, at Bull Shoals in north central Arkansas, the deepest water I fish is around 350'. The water is gin clear and fish come up from deep water for these lures. I fish for bass (green & brown), striper and walley using the LC Pointer 128 most of the time. Sometimes I'll throw the Pointer 100 or the Husky Jerk and occasionally, an X-Rap. If my partner/ guide gets on them with a Rogue (that's all he fishes), I'll switch to that, too.

[Tin]

Ok it all depends where the fish are. As an example, if there are fish suspended in the middle of 10' I will go to the original series because it gets down to 5'. But besides that if I'm fishing water than 8 feet I will go to the dd series. And for shallow water, 2-4 feet, I will go to the slender series. As for colors, my personal favorite that will catch fish anywhere Ghost Tennesse Shad