Fishing a jerkbait is a timeless way to catch bass and it shines during the colder months. Selecting the right gear and narrowing down the perfect bait and color are significant parts of the jerkbait equation, but knowing how to fish them on a given day is something that is often overlooked.
Bassmaster Elite Series pro Brandon Card has learned to adjust his jerkbait retrieves based on the conditions, water temperature and varies it from day-to-day. He utilizes a method that includes different rod actions and simply counting how long he pauses the bait.
“I see many anglers fish a jerkbait the same way all year long and I believe that is a mistake to not listen to what the fish are telling you,” Card says. “Each day is a little different and I will use longer or shorter pauses and also adjust how I am working the bait. I believe doing this gets me a few extra bites.”
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Count Your Pauses
The simple “jerk, jerk, pause” retrieve for jerkbaits is the simplest way to fish a jerkbait, but the length of the pause is critical.
“I try to dial in the right length for that day and will count how long my bait is sitting there,” says Card. “In the dead of winter, I may be letting my bait sit for five seconds or longer and as it gets closer towards spring, it might be sitting there for a second before I start moving the bait again.”
One of the biggest factors for deciding the length of the pause is water temperature.
“In my neck of the woods, water will get down into the 40s and that is when I am generally using those long pauses,” Card says. “I don’t think people slow down enough and let that bait sit and suspend for the cold water.”
Selecting a suspending jerkbait that truly suspends at rest is another part of the puzzle. Card is partial to the Hardcore Minnow Flat 110SP. It also comes in a smaller size, but the 110 is his go-to.
“It was flat sides and that gives it an action like a flat-sided crankbait where it will sort of rock from top-to-bottom,” he says. “That makes it deadly for cold water bass and it suspends perfectly every time you pause it. When you fish it faster, it also has a very erratic action so that you can use it all year long.”
Mixing Up Jerkbait Retrieves
Along with the standard jerkbait retrieve, Card will also utilize short pulls of his rod to give it a different movement. He will often go back and forth between the two methods until he finds what the fish want.
“I will not only jerk and pause my bait,” he begins. “I’ll add some erratic action once in a while and will also just simply pull my rod to give it a different look that is more subtle. I will mix up different retrieves until I start getting bites.”
The pulling method is something that Card says shines in extremely cold conditions.
“Pulling your rod gives the bait a nice subtle action and makes it looks like a dying baitfish,” Card says. “That is what makes that Hardcore Minnow Flat so good in the cold. It has a nice, tight wobble when you pull it, almost like flat-sided crankbaits that are so good in cold water.”
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Gear and Locations
Having the right retrieve is one thing, but being around fish is obviously critical to your success. Card likes to put the odds in his favor by locating baitfish and wind is one of the most significant clues to their location.
“I am always looking for windblown banks because it congregates the baitfish,” he says. “I also try to figure out where the wind has been blowing the past several days to get me somewhere to start. It can be tricky to figure this out if there are shifting winds, but I am always checking the weather apps to get me pointed in the right direction.”
Aside from the wind, Card studies his Navionics mapping for likely areas and will also scan the bank looking for transitions.
“I look for any changes from bluff banks to rock or from big rocks to smaller rocks,” he adds.
Card prefers to fish his Hardcore jerkbait on a 6’10” iRod jerkbait rod paired with a Revo MGX reel spooled with 10-pound Yo-Zuri T7 fluorocarbon.
“I’ll use 10-pound most of the time but will go up to 12-pound I am around a bunch of grass of cover,” he shares.
The jerkbait has proven to be one of the best ways to catch bass during the colder months of the year and it is a lure that can be fished many ways. By varying your retrieves and focusing on the right locations, it can be your ticket to success right now.
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