I don't think I have seen much discussion on the board on using rip baits vs. jerk baits so I thought I would start a discussion on these two different techniques. First, ripping is what the term indicates...sweeping the rod across your body and then pausing until the next rip. I would like to add just one thing to this, and that is just before ripping the second rip, add a slight wiggle and then rip. Most of the time the bass has hit the lure on the wiggle before the rip. As far as a rip setup, I think one should start with a good 6' 8" M Fast Tip (soft tip) spinning rod or a 6' 8" MH Fast Tip (soft tip) baitcaster rod. The reel is less important than the rod so any good reel will work but it should be spooled with 6 to 8 lb flurocarbon which sinks fast and is invisiable in cold clear water. If you are using flurocarbon on a spinning reel, make sure you unspool your line and tie it some place where you can stretch it to reduce the memory recoil and any twist.

Jerk baits are a little different animal. Like rip baits, jerk baits work best in clear water because you are looking for a reaction strike. The main difference between Jerk baits and rip baits is the way you present the lure. However, the rip bait may or may not be suspending which is another difference. You could put enough lead on the front hook of a Shad Rap and rip it across the bottom in deep water. Whether you are using a rip bait or a jerk bait the color of its belly is what is important because most of the time the fish is looking upward at the lure so belly color is important and best colors most of the time is white, orange and red.

Now to jerk bait presentation. It is most importantly that you allow the jerk bait to suspend motionless. The best presentation is to suspend the lure motionless in a "head-down" position. A good lure to use is one in which looks and moves the way described in auraor black or ghost minnow, and it does not have to be an expensive lure but it does need to have the desired action. One presentation is the "pull-pause" natural swinning action technique. But, the lure must remain motionless on the pause and the pause must be left to a "slack line." You may not believe that this makes difference, but it does. This technique works well with long-billed deep diving jerk baits.

The second presentation is the "jerk-jerk-pause" method. Or, whatever pattern the fish are telling you on any given day. Again, the lure must remain motionless on the pause with a slack line, and the rod tip pointed toward the water. Do not reel up the line on the pause to avoid moving the lure. Jerk the lure and immediately let the rod tip return toward the lure. The only time to reel up is when you want to cover a lot of water then you may want to use a "jerk-reel-jerk" method. The number of jerks, the length of pause and lure speed all may be adjusted. I am sure a lot of you have your own technigues when ripping and jerking. I think this type of fishing is fascinating and can be very productive, especially this time of year.