Jerkbait

[Mr._Zoonker]

Would a jerkbait be fished similar to a chug bug only it dives when it is yanked?

[playmaker47]

when i fish them i jerk, reel up slack, jerk, reel up slack and so on.

[Rattlinrogue]

Jerk'em,twitch'em,rip 'em,and swim 'em.Vary your speed and vary the length of your hesitation between movements.Eventually,you'll catch a fish.The whole time you're fishing you must focus so that when you do catch a bass,you'll remember exactly how you were working your bait.You just continue doing it that way until it dries up.Then you start experimenting again with different retrieves,speeds,and length of pauses.

[Scott1301599761]

whens the best time to use a jerk bait

[Shad_Master]

The answer to this will vary with what's going on with the fish.  A lot of people will tell you that spring and fall are the best times, but yesterday I was fishing in an area where I have been getting hammered on cranks and spinners, no takers.  I noticed there was some activity in the weeds so moved over and tried dragging/hopping a worm.  Still no takers.  I felt my worm get hung up on a weed and tried to snap it free and the water exploded (3 #'er).  Threw back in the same area and gave it a twitch, another 3#'er.  Caught another one on the next cast the same way.  As a guy I sometimes fish with once told me, "the fish will tell you what they want - you just have to listen".

[roadwarrior]

Lot's of guys have no luck with jerkbaits. I think this is generally because they fish them too fast. The most important part of the retrieve is the pause. Regardless of your cadence, your pause must be complete. The rest is experimentation.

Let's explore a specific retrieve: Rip, rip, pause, rip, rip, pause...etc...Okay, how long is the pause? Well, that varies, too. Now let's vary the rip, not a twitch but a long (12-24") sweep: Sweep, sweep, sweep, pause, sweep, sweep, sweep, pause...etc...The point is that there are so many variances in the way you can retrive the lure, you should probably use the same retrieve for several casts, then change it up a bit if that's not working. For whatever reason, once you catch your first fish, it's that particular retrieve that will probably work the rest of the morning or evening.

[Rattlinrogue]

Well said,Warrior!