Choosing The Right Jerkbaitand Methods To Use Them

[exiledguide]

I don't always use jerkbaits...

...but when I do, I jerk a super rogue. Six 'eyes over 10lb agree.

That kind of cut through all the yuppie BS

[Kayser]

All I'm hearing is that my collection of husky jerks (HJ 10) should have been a collection of something else.

[Old plug]

All I'm hearing is that my collection of husky jerks (HJ 10) should have been a collection of something else.

[Old plug]

KAYZER I am just in the mood today to tell it like it is. A lot of people on here think they got to have a15-20 dollar plug in a variety of colors etc etc. I am from the days when you bought a Rapala and wrapped led wire around the hook to make it suspend and i think there are still several stuffed away in a box somewhere. If you like your jerk baits there are simple things that will make you a top notch jerk bait fisherman, Use them often. When you do study them in the water from splashdown to the side of the boat. Buy yourself some lead strips and learn how to modify it. This insinuation i see splashed around this particular thread about stuff like " well it works well OK for a $7 plug " and all the other such comparisons show me nothing. The main difference between what is its all about marketing and being cool. Fishermen often remind me of white bass. Throw something in front of a bunch of them and give a little presentation and you got a bunch in a frenzy. So in short kayzer I would not put much weight into most of the them say.

[Al Agnew]

KAYZER I am just in the mood today to tell it like it is. A lot of people on here think they got to have a15-20 dollar plug in a variety of colors etc etc. I am from the days when you bought a Rapala and wrapped led wire around the hook to make it suspend and i think there are still several stuffed away in a box somewhere. If you like your jerk baits there are simple things that will make you a top notch jerk bait fisherman, Use them often. When you do study them in the water from splashdown to the side of the boat. Buy yourself some lead strips and learn how to modify it. This insinuation i see splashed around this particular thread about stuff like " well it works well OK for a $7 plug " and all the other such comparisons show me nothing. The main difference between what is its all about marketing and being cool. Fishermen often remind me of white bass. Throw something in front of a bunch of them and give a little presentation and you got a bunch in a frenzy. So in short kayzer I would not put much weight into most of the them say.

Jerkbaits are like any other class of lure in that you do well when you get to know whichever brand you decide to use. If Old Plug does great on Rapalas with lead on them, it's because he knows how the lure works in the water, and fishes it effectively and with confidence.

But there are differences in jerkbaits, and some of the high dollar ones have characteristics the cheaper ones don't. Now maybe those characteristics don't catch you any more fish, but maybe sometimes they do.

Mitch and I fished the Meramec today. Water was clearer than I've ever seen it, visibility at least 10 feet. Bright skies, windy at times, water temps around 45 degrees. Tough conditions for jerkbaits or anything else, but at least you could see your jerkbait nearly all the time.

I started out with one of the new and cheaper jerkbaits I'd bought. It suspended well. It suspended fairly level. But it took pretty hard, sharp twitches to get it to either roll or zig zag. In water that cold, you usually don't want to have to really jerk it. So I quickly replaced it with the Pointer that I knew would roll and wiggle with slower, gentler twitches. In that clear water, I could see it well, and I could see when a fish would approach it. Only the smaller fish were willing to investigate, and they really had to be coaxed to take it, but letting it sit for a bit and then barely moving it. The first jerkbait wouldn't have worked for that at all. It ended up being a very slow day, with maybe ten or so fish caught on jerkbaits, and another 10 or 12 caught on various jigs and plastics on the bottom. Mitch caught a 16 incher and a couple around 15 inches, as I remember, and I caught one nice smallie around 17 inches, but I believe all of the better fish came on the jigs and plastics.

[joeD]

I want to write about a pet peeve of mine, "reverse elitism," but not now.

What I do know, with complete certainty, is that, after years of flailing for big browns on the White River in Arkansas in January, Smithwick Rogues suck. Because of their cheapness, Because of their inability to cast and retrieve reliably. Because, well, they just suck. When our group switched to Pointers and Spro McSticks, Xcalibers, and the like, things changed for the better.

You know, there is no shame in being able to afford nice things. In fact, nice things that cost money are more often than not, better than things that cost less. It's just the way it is. Don't make it a monetary moral judgement. There are no points, or fish, for being a martyr.

[Gavin]

Cheap baits...are cheap baits...You want a good weight transfer system in a jerkbait and stellar hooks...a Rogue needs better hooks, and no weight transfer....Super Rogues have a piss pour weight transfer...but I've had them out fish LC's, Mega's, IMA's, Evergreens, & some other Japanese baits sometimes...not often but it happens. You need to know how they run...depth, type or action...and you need to know how to tune one..particularly the cheap ones. Not hard baits to fish after you play with them a bit. An expensive category to learn...but well worth it if you are a winter fisher. Probably have a couple hundred of them in the selection...Maybe 8 models two of each to choose from if I'm wade fishing...Canoe or boat fishing ...Maggie bar the door.

[Guest]

Cheap baits...are cheap baits...You want a good weight transfer system in a jerkbait and stellar hooks...a Rogue needs better hooks, and no weight transfer....Super Rogues have a piss pour weight transfer...but I've had them out fish LC's, Mega's, IMA's, Evergreens, & some other Japanese baits sometimes...not often but it happens. You need to know how they run...depth, type or action...and you need to know how to tune one..particularly the cheap ones. Not hard baits to fish after you play with them a bit. An expensive category to learn...but well worth it if you are a winter fisher. Probably have a couple hundred of them in the selection...Maybe 8 models two of each to choose from if I'm wade fishing...Canoe or boat fishing ...Maggie bar the door.

I agree with the weight transfer systems, but that's a anglers comfort zone deal

Don't under estimate a tricked out rogue, they will catch plenty of big bass.

Nothing on my rogue is stock.

I upgrade hooks, O-rings, paint, clearcoat, etc.

Its a different bait when Im finished.

However, on really windy days those Japanese baits with weight transfer systems are much more user friendly.

I fish them too.

[Old plug]

Everyone to their own. I will go with what I have been doing for over 60 yrs. $18 to $20 plugs are way over priced. I remember the time of the BigO frenzy. The only reason they were so outstanding is because that is what was being reported on. And yes I can balance and tweak my lures and there is very few have not. But I do not fish plugs much anymore. I tend to fish 90 % plastics. All over the water table.

[Guest]

One things for sure, you boys get fired up about jerkbaits.

Maybe y'all can share what you like to tweak or what your favorite bait does that others don't.

I'm interested to here it.