Jerk baits?

[apegs]

Looking for some input on jerk baits. I would like to start using them some more but I dont usually give them a fair shake. I tend to go with my tried and true tactics. I feel like a suspending jerk bait could be real killer early season . Wonderig how and where you fish them and when. Any info pertinent to this will help

[bassfshin24]

I love spring and fall jerkbait fishing! I tend to fish them on lakes that have decent visability. They can be tough in stained/muddy water. Early in the spring when water temps are still pretty cold sometimes you really have to work them slow. I mean a couple quick jerks and then just let it sit there for 10/15/20 seconds or more. Ill fish jerkbaits all the way up until spawn. Main lake points can be great for jerkbaits early in the year as well as points leading into spawning areas. I will definitely have one tied on the first time my boat hits the water. I tend to stay cheap with suspending rattling rogues and x-raps. I prefer xraps. I would love to get a few Lucky craft pointers or some megabass jerkbaits but I can't justify spending that kind of $ on them. Especially when the toothy critters love them too!

[mainbutter]

Why use a jerkbait when you can strip a streamer

Similar motion, can be absolutely killer. The fish have to see it, and lures with more vibration can get attention before it is seen.

[BTL]

Pretty much agree with what bassfishin24 said.

I do use Pointers a lot, but only on lakes that don't have many pike!

[bassfshin24]

Check this article out. Some pro's talking about fishing a suspending rogue in the spring.

http://www.basszone.com/featured-stories/m.blog/58/going-rogue

[bassinboy3]

Love suspending jerkbaits off of flats in the spring! You have to let the fish tell you what they want by trying retrieves but what I have found is longest its floating in front of them is best. I also like soft jerk shads or flukes pretty much all year on schooling smallies on the flats or shallow areas.

[RK]

As others have said, jerkbaits are great in cold, relatively clear water (doesn't have to be gin clear - they're killer on stained water like Lake of the Woods - but muddy is no good). I use them quite a bit for pre-spawn smallmouths. I do use them on occasion for summer LMB and open water smallies as well.

I use them over rock/gravel flats and along edges around pre-spawn staging areas, and they're great because you can cast them a mile, and they're really versatile in terms of speed range from wait 30 seconds on a pause to snapping them along as fast as you can turn the handle. Also great for covering a wide range of depths - fish will come up 15 feet to hit them in clear water.

I'm probably a little out of the ordinary but I fish most of my jerkbaits on spinning gear, especially for smallies. I use a 7' ML X-Fast with 10# fused superline (Sufix or Fireline-type) and a fluoro leader. Can cast a mile, and you have a great deal of control over how far you're moving a bait even at the end of a cast. I will use casting gear for bigger baits for largemouths sometimes, but I bet 90% of the time I use spinning gear.

I use a lot of Pointers and Slender Pointers in the spring and fall since they suspend so horizontally and are very consistent in terms of buoyancy. Husky Jerks and X-raps are good in warmer water when you're fishing them faster since they're a little less consistent with how individual baits suspend. Some are tail up, others tail down, some slow sink, some slow float. Doesn't matter all that much if you're moving them fast though. A couple off the radar baits are Strike King Wild Shiners - they are a little bigger and run a little deeper, which I like for open water smallies - and some of the Daiwa TD baits. Down south, suspending Rogues have a cult following. Megabass Vision 110s are supposed to be THE jerkbait, but I'll be darned if I'm spending $25 on a bass lure a pike will bite off eventually anyhow. $9 frogs are bad enough...

[bassfshin24]

I actually use spinning gear as well. I just feel like I have better control with a spinning setup.

[Cecil]

I use a 6-8" medium action Shimano Cumara and it throws little #8 xraps and pointer 78's VERY well. I love slender pointers and the new flash pointer 100's due mainly to the fact that they have 3 sets of hooks on them as compared to a pointer 100 or the x-raps.

[Fulldraw84]

Do you guys ever take your jerkbaits and put them in cold water to test their suspension?

I did all of mine in 50, 48, and then 46 degree water. I couldn't believe the difference in some of the baits I have. Even the pointers were different from each other.

I ended up taking some small solder I have and wrapping the treble in front to get a really nice slow float on them. I know The density of the water changes with depth and temp, but now I figure My baits are on the same playing field.

Next time I order some baits I'm going to get an Ima Flit 120 or 100. They look pretty killer in the one video I seen.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I love fishing jerkbaits. I usually throw mine on baitcasters, I just dont like spinning gear much. I use a 6'6" M with 10lb copoly for smaller baits and a 7' MH for larger baits.

They can shine outside of the cooler months. I often use them on a river with floating docks all summer. It might be 10-20' under the docks but I like a suspending bait worked just along the edges, Lots of bass and walleyes will sit just under the dock and not near the bottom, probably shouldnt be broadcasting this

Remember when fishing a jerkbait use rod snaps, not pulls for more erratic action. You want to jerk the rod quickly and put slack back in the line after youve jerked it. Watch your line on the pause many sometimes you'll see it pop signaling a fish hit on the pause. Other times they will just be there when you go to jerk again. Pay attention to how/when they are hitting and vary your retrieve to their activity level.

Personally I like the action of the pointers myself and usually stock up when I can find them on sale or they clearance out colors. Check out the new Storm Twitchin minnow, pretty much a cheap knock off of a pointer but We'll see how well they actually perform...

[tolle141]

There's a ton of info out there, especially in bassmaster and infisherman. Get 5 or 6 jerkbaits and make sure there aren't any other lures in your boat. That'll force you to figure them out. It's what I did with tubes, spinnerbaits, jig n pigs, texas rigs, flippin gear, and lipless cranks. Once you figure out when and where they work, you'll be so much better on the water all around

Next up is drop shotting

[Comit 2]

What did the winners of the Bassmasters classic use?

[Superduty]

What did the winners of the Bassmasters classic use?

The winner caught most of his fish on a football jig. He claimed he got a few on a Jackall jerkbait but it was painfully obvious he was throwing a Smithwick Rogue on the telecast.