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I absolutely LOVE jerkbaits. I occasionally will experiment with some of them to get different actions and looks. For example teaser hooks, or without, eye alterations to make the bait list to one side or dart, suspend dots to stop them in the water column or sink to name a few. What do some of you fellas do to get more strikes out of yours???
Mark: I really love a good jerk bait bite. One of the things I do (which you may already do) is to tie my jerkbaits with a loop knot...this can really give you some wild action on the lure and varying the length of the loop can help you find that one action they want that day.
>Mark: I really love a good jerk bait bite. One of the
>things I do (which you may already do) is to tie my jerkbaits
>with a loop knot...this can really give you some wild action
>on the lure and varying the length of the loop can help you
>find that one action they want that day.
Amen on the loop knot.
Anyone else get caught up in the "use fingernail polish to paint red gills on all your jerkbaits" craze a few years back?
>Mark: I really love a good jerk bait bite. One of the
>things I do (which you may already do) is to tie my jerkbaits
>with a loop knot...this can really give you some wild action
>on the lure and varying the length of the loop can help you
>find that one action they want that day.
I need to learn to tie that knot better, I've had some problems with it and I'm sure it's my tieing ability. That's a good one though, maybe the most important of all. Nothing like when they slam that ole jerkbait, Whoooweee.
Mark I have spent a lot of hours on the water with jerkbaits and finshed 8th in a Bass at pickwick lake and had the fish on to win. My favorite time to fish a jerkbait is in the spring when the water is cold 42 to 55 degree. When the water is in the 40 to 50 degree range I use a suspending rogue and I use suspenDots to make it sink slowly so I can get it deeper I can get the 5 inch rogue with 011 dia. line down to 8 feet in cold water the deeper you can get it the more bites you will get.The way I fish it is to put boat as far off the bank as I can cast.I use a one two cadence or one two three with pauses in between the colder ther water is the longer you wait.When the water is warmerer I like my baits to float up and use a faster cadence so the fish dont get a good look at them. because when the water is cold the fish are dumb but as the water warms up they get harder to catch so I use lucky craft baits then. John Crase
Getting off the bank is definitely a big plus...too many times I see people too close to the bank fishing a jerkbait. When I am hitting points that I know are good for those early spring smallies I keep on eye on the finder for targets under the boat...not unusual to catch them two cast lengths off the bank when they don't have the baitfish pushed up close. Another good thing you mentioned here John is letting the lure sit for a while if the fish are not taking on short pauses...takes some patience but it pays off.
Gentlemen I really have not had much luck with the jerkbait(confidence probably) I am going tomorrow,the water is up and light brown in color about 47 degrees. I understand they work best in clear water but could this be a possibility? I am open to any other suggestions . I will probably use black jigs as well as dark tubes and maybe a small bright or even dark crankbait...:-)
Thanks Dave my best early jerkbait spot at dale is three cast off the bank and is a river leadge that drops from 15'to 25' feet that leads to a spawning flat that I found by accident one day I couldnt count the smallmouth over 4 and biger that I have caught there in the last 20 years.and I have never seen any body fish a jerkbait on it.I also know what you go through as a guide because I did that for a time. John Crase
I am sure most know this, but just a reminder: Yellow eyes float and red eyes suspend.
Shawn
Right on again John....ledges are definitely an overlooked pattern for jerkbaits. It's good to see you posting more on here now...good to have a tournament angler with your success background on the board here. Yeah, I guess the guiding can be testing at times but it is one of those occupations you really like or you don't. When you do it as much as I do you better like it or you need your head examined...lol...kind of like your life as a professional tournament angler and all the traveling, sponsor work etc, long hours on the water...if you didn't love it you need your head examined...lol.
When you guys use the suspend dots do you put them on in manner so the bait stays horizontal in the water or do you like the tail down?
I prefer mine horizontal.