Jerkbait question

[Smithvillesteve]

Getting some cabin fever up here boys! And looking at the long range forecast for TR it still doesnt look too good. Question on the jerkbait: I notice when i pause my jerkbait it sits in the water nose down. About a 45 degree angle. It also floats up very very slowly. Is this what i want? I throw mine on 12 lb Seaguar InVisX  flurocarbon line. I never had any confidence throwing a jerkbait but finally started catching a few the last couple of years. Now i love it in this cold water. Thanks boys!!

[dblades]

`I like them slightly nose down in cold water,  sitting at a 45 might be a little to much.  I also want them suspending or just slightly sinking in cold water, but i wouldn't consider myself an expert.

[Champ188]

Could be that 12-pound fc line pulling the nose down. Mike McClelland advocates throwing jerk baits on 10-pound or 8-pound mono … I personally like the 8-pound PLine CXX. I believe Babler chooses 8-pound Maxima.

Also, nothing wrong with using a small snap on the front but make sure it's very small and is ONLY a snap and not a swivel 

Not out to reignite a mono vs. FC war here … that topic has been covered more than thoroughly. Just stating my opinion as to why your lure may be sitting a little too far nose down. 

[Bill Babler]

Top Jerk bait guys including Mike and KVD both throw it on mono.   Don't want the line to sink or drag down the nose of the bait. 

Buster throws in on carbon and he is as good as those guys.

Believe it.

Ideal attitude is slightly tail down.  Shad sink tail down and then swim up.

As Champ said, I fish it on 8 lb. Maxi until they start getting to feisty and then I move up to 10 pound.

[1farmer]

7 hours ago, Smithvillesteve said:

Getting some cabin fever up here boys! And looking at the long range forecast for TR it still doesnt look too good. Question on the jerkbait: I notice when i pause my jerkbait it sits in the water nose down. About a 45 degree angle. It also floats up very very slowly. Is this what i want? I throw mine on 12 lb Seaguar InVisX  flurocarbon line. I never had any confidence throwing a jerkbait but finally started catching a few the last couple of years. Now i love it in this cold water. Thanks boys!!

First of all, if your catching fish on the bait, then you probably will not want to alter the bait. If the bait has a split ring on the front this can be moved to the back hook hanger to balance the lure. A loop knot will be used to tie the lure to your line. I doubt the line is causing the lure to sit nose down (my apologies Champ). Take the lure, which I'm guessing is a megabass, put in sink full of water and see how it sits.

[1farmer]

55 minutes ago, Bill Babler said:

Top Jerk bait guys including Mike and KVD both throw it on mono.   Don't want the line to sink or drag down the nose of the bait. 

Buster throws in on carbon and he is as good as those guys.

Believe it.

Ideal attitude is slightly tail down.  Shad sink tail down and then swim up.

As Champ said, I fish it on 8 lb. Maxi until they start getting to feisty and then I move up to 10 pound.

In agreement on the tail down. I am almost as much of a purist as some of those fly fishers when it comes to a jerkbait. It took a rc stick jr to show me the error of my ways. My jerkbaits had to either sit level or slightly nose down or the stayed at home. I was out playing with the bass one nice crisp January afternoon and was doing fairly well on a pointer 78 when it lodged in some fishing line and had to break it off. The only other small jerk bait I had with me was the rc stick jr still in the package. After catching numerous fish on the bait I noticed that it was suspending tail down. Now I don't care how it sits in the water as long as it suspends.  I do prefer that the baits that I want to get deeper suspend nose down as I feel this helps get just a little more depth.

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

Best bet is to use the line you like and can afford, by some suspend dots and just play with it. A kitchen sink of water isnt gonna tell you crap, once you have line on it and the temp of the water will dictate how it float, sinks, suspends, or whatever you want it to do

[1farmer]

30 minutes ago, aarchdale@coresleep.com said:

Best bet is to use the line you like and can afford, by some suspend dots and just play with it. A kitchen sink of water isnt gonna tell you crap, once you have line on it and the temp of the water will dictate how it float, sinks, suspends, or whatever you want it to do

It will tell him whether the bait suspends level or nose down, so don"t tell me it won"t tell him crap.

[Longball22]

I would be concerned about some of the modern jerkbaits we talk about on here (Megabass and Spro McStick) sitting tail down, because the weight transfer for casting on those needs the ball to move forward in the bait to level it out.  If those baits sat too far tail down, there would be a chance the ball rolls back during the retrieve and causes the bait to go vertical, tail down.

Also, as water temperature drops, buoyant force increases.  If your bait is sitting nose or tail up due to an imbalance of buoyant force, warmer water should make it less drastic, and colder water would make it more drastic.

 

[Champ188]

3 hours ago, 1farmer said:

First of all, if your catching fish on the bait, then you probably will not want to alter the bait. If the bait has a split ring on the front this can be moved to the back hook hanger to balance the lure. A loop knot will be used to tie the lure to your line. I doubt the line is causing the lure to sit nose down (my apologies Champ). Take the lure, which I'm guessing is a megabass, put in sink full of water and see how it sits.

No apology required 1farmer. You know your business and I’m glad to hear your opinion. This place is great only because so many good fishermen are willing to exchange ideas.