Do you know how to fish a Jerkbait for Bass? Well this tutorial should give you a little better idea on how to, when, where, and what to use. At some point in every season a jerk bait can be a good choice. Anytime you have clear water a Jerkbait is going to be a major player at some point. I am not saying you can’t use these in dirty water, but they just really thrive in clear water lakes. Lake Lanier, Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, Clear Lake, Lake Erie, California Delta, Sturgeon Bay, Grand Traverse Bay, and Lake Hartwell are all some great choices for clear water lakes. Obviously there are plenty more but that just gives you a reference.
How to Rig
When throwing a Jerkbait I like to use a bait caster rigged with fluorocarbon. I also like to use a high speed reel like a 7:2:1 pictured here. I also like a medium action rod with a fast action tip. I also want this rod to be 7 foot or more long so I can make long casts and get a lot of line back when I need to set the hook. I am going to tie a standard palomar knot when tying on my jerk bait.
Summer Time Jerkbait
So in the summer time a jerk bait can be a great bait when the fish aren’t as aggressive. Let’s say you have been throwing top water plugs at brush piles all summer like we do on Lake Lanier in Georgia and they are just not committing to the bait.
They may blow up on it very lightly or just not come up at all. Then you can switch over to a jerk bait and make that same cast with a twitch twitch pause retrieve and get bit that way. Maybe you are up north and the smallmouth relate to rock piles. You can do the same thing. Figure out the cadence and retrieve that they like best and run that pattern. I find that in the warmer months I can work my bait a little faster and more aggressively. Twitch Twitch pause (2 seconds) twitch twitch twitch pause (3 seconds) and repeat and just figure out what they want that day. When i say twitch I mean a pretty hard yank with slack in the line. The slack helps the bait to go side to side and erratic which triggers your strike. Typically in the summer time you should be off shore and off the bank a little more for this technique. If you are on a lake or river that has current then targeting the current breaks such as bridges pillars can be a great place to get a bite as well.
Spring Time Jerkbait
In the spring time you can get a little closer to the bank with this technique. If the fish are in a Pre Spawn mode you will want to target secondary points and humps. If they are about to spawn or in the spawn mode you can hit the banks from a safe distance and make long casts. Remember they will track this from a long way. Sometimes they follow this bait for a while before they hit it. I always try to picture in my head there is a bass following it at all times and I am trying my best to make it react to my bait. Giving the bait erratic action trying to trigger a strike. Also remember if you feel a bite and miss it DO NOT reel the bait in and start over. That fish is still right there or another one may be following and will hit it. Have you ever caught a fish and saw five more bass following it in? These fish can be schooled up. When you hook up those other bass are trying to get that bait from his mouth for themselves. I cannot tell you how many times I have had a fish on and lost it and started twitching it again and hooked up right away again. DO NOT give up if you miss one. Keep twitching and you will get slammed again. Also the bed fish will react to this bait also. It would not be my first choice to catch a bedding bass but is a great choice as a switch up bait to make them react.
Fall Time Jerkbait
A jerk bait in the fall can be absolutely deadly for Big Bass. We will get a little more into sizes and depths later on. But this is the time of the year I am going to use the bigger size jerk baits since the bass are gorging on bait for the winter time. In the fall I do find that the bass spread out a little more. One way I love to use this bait in the fall is for schooling bass. I will be in an area where they are schooling and I will have my jerk bait laying on the front of the boat ready to go. I will be working the bottom with a worm and when the bass blow up I can drop the worm rod and pick up my jerk bait rod and fire into the schooling fish very quickly for a bite. I also feel in the fall the bass like the water that warms up the quickest.
I will find rock piles that get the mornings first sun or banks that do the same thing. You can also find long shoals or bluff walls where the bass can trap bait and ambush them and fish those areas. I also almost always like to change the hooks on my jerk bait. Usually the ones that come standard are weak in my opinion. Do not change the size of the hooks if you make this change as it will mess with the action of the bait. I am a big believer in the Triple Grip Hooks shown here. These hooks time and time again keep my fish pinned. In the fall you are going to catch some big bass and the last thing you want is your hooks straightening out as you reel your PB in.
Winter Time Jerkbait
Alright guys it is time to SLOW Down. I love fishing a jerk bait in the winter but you have to slow down and be more subtle to get the bites. I love this first thing in the morning in the shallow ditches or in the backs of pockets. It is crucial to match the bait that they are targeting. This is probably a time where you are going to downsize your jerkbait and maybe get one that runs a little deeper.
During the winter they are not going to chase quite as much so you have to put the bait right infront of their face. When I say smaller jerk bait I mean the one with two hooks instead of three. This is my go to bait in the winter when I am targeting those jerkbait fish.
Which Jerkbait Should I Use?
This all depends on what size baitfish the bass are keying in on. After that you have to determine what depth the Bass are at to decide how deep of a jerkbait you want to use. There are so many colors and choices to chose from so I will show some of my favorites down below. In general in the fall, spring and summer I use the bigger jerk baits that have three treble hooks on them. In the winter I like to downsize a little bit and use the smaller ones with just two hooks but run a little deeper. The colors are going to vary based on what you are trying to imitate obviously. But as a general rule I like to use more translucent and chrome colors when it is very sunny and clear skies. When it is overcast and cloudy I like to use colors that have a good bit of white in them. In the spring I almost exclusively like to throw a sexy shad color.
It is a color I have a lot of confidence in. Also a tip for the winter when the baitfish are very small I like to use a rear treble with a little feather attached to it. Sometimes just that back hook imitates enough of a baitfish and causes the bass to bite. Here is a great example of that right here.
I hope this helps you guys with your jerk bait fishing. This can be a very awesome technique. If you don’t believe me just watch Kevin Van Dam fish this in some of his tournaments. That dude has won a lot of money with that bait. If you do not already follow us on Instagram then please give us a follow or Like us on Facebook.
Tight Lines!!
This Post Has 2 Comments
Awesome post! Keep up the great work! 🙂
Thanks!
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