jerkbaits

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

Using jerkbaits is probably my weakest area in bass fishing..I do have more than a few of them, but truly do not know when it is best to use them, and how to use them the most effectively..I drew Zaldain for the first day of the Oroville Anglers Choice Pro/Am, and he threw them all day..He had me tossing other baits, and to tell you the truth I was pretty busy just playing netman for him..If I had it to do all over again, I would ask a whole lot more questions than I did..Any help in this quest will be greatly appreciated..

mac

[Marc]

Get yourself a Lucky Craft Staysee Dobyn's Ver 3 in a baitfish color and use it on 12lb Fluorocarbon or 10lb Copolymer like McCoy. Add a Pointer Minnow for shallower work. Between these two jerkbaits you can cover a lot of water (depth and area) and you can catch a lot of bass.

In most cases you will get bites when you pause the bait, and once this starts to happen with you it will be some of the most exciting fishing you can possibly do next to topwater. Bass will sometimes rip the rod hard, and a tug of war will begin.

Like walking a topwater lure, you will learn to develop a rythm between rod twitches and reel handle turns. This will take some time and experimentation unless you throw a jerkbait behind a master, and you copy his movements.

Jerkbaits excel in clear water situations. They shine when fishing them over grass beds or adjacent to grass/weeds. They also work anytime around schools of baitfish. A jerkbait acts like a wounded baitfish (read my next article in Bass Angler's Magazine about the Odd Man Theory) fishing them where bass are feeding is always a good idea.

Hope this helps.

ciao,
Marc Marcantonio

[sTony]

I hear Dobyns telling people all the time that's it's one of the easiest techniques to learn and do and that most people seem to want to over complicate it. Maybe once he slows down enough to sit in front of a computer he'll respond here as well.

Tony

[Sean Wayman]

Rig one up for thursday, we will be throwin em on Berryessa. Oh and to answer when? They pretty much work year round just about every where. Oh and for line it depends where Im at, Berryessa and Oroville I use 8 to 12 lb fluorocarbon, Delta and Clear Lake I may go as high as 15lb.

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

Just a thank you to all those that posted..I appreciate your inputs..As I said I have several boxes of them and have used them some, but haven't had the success I was expecting..To tell you the truth I have caught just as many using them just like straight crankbaits (toss and wind) as I have with the rip and pause method..

mac

[sky88s]

Man personally I really think JerkBaits are the most effective baits at covering water..

I prefer the LC 127 Pointer..that thing can create some attention..i love how it knocks when jerk and not rattle..that thing definitely gets me some morning bites out over at bass lake..working it over grass fields..etc

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Lucky_Cr ... LCSPT.html

when i really want something to rattle..i love the R2S suspen'88..that things deadly when you really need it to be..and the suspen'88 CAN be as simple as using a crankbait..

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/River2Se ... R2SSM.html

just my .02

[Riplip]

The best aspect of jerkbait fishing from my experience is the ability to get fish that aren't on a reaction bite, using a reaction technique. I like to vary the pause, sometimes add just a wiggle, when intercepting a prime piece of structure. I will toss across a point and work it down to it's operating depth, then pause near the structure. Many days when I can't get a reaction bite, the Staycee come through with better fish than plastics for me.Often they will hit on the pause, but some of my best bites have been on the first rip after a pause on the structure.

[g-man]

Rip baits are one of my favorite lures. You can cover water, very your rips, and almost all my bites come on the pause! I find it best used when its windy, low light, cloudy raining days. But with out a doubt you can catch fish on it in all conditions. I second what Gary said about the slack line...

[Cooch]

Hi, my name is Andy Cuccia, and yes, Gary Dobyns turned me into a Jerkbait Junkie!

I also hold him fully responsible for the tendinitus in my left elbow and wrist, and the fact I constantly am spraining my right wrist in September the past three years. Of course, those in my bowling league, applaud him, since it drives my 225 average down below 210 in the fall!! HAR!

It is addictive once ya learn and gain the confidence in it's effectiveness. It has brought many a fishless days on both Clearlake and the River, when I just couldn't git em ta eat a jig in the late fall and early winter. It's absolutely deadly tossing a Chartruese shad DD 100 Pointer right now for stripers here. That Pointer 100SP aint too shabby either! I've had my greatest success on the blackies here and at Clearlake, especially in late November and December, using the Stacey Aurora Black.

I think here on the Delta, most anglers don't git on this bait until long after it starts ta catch fish. I actually will start tossing a Chartruese Bevy shad in late August once the shad here are into their heavy spawn along the island drop offs and ledges. This is the tactic I think that causes me the most physical grief though, since it requires the hardest, violent and most erratic of retrieves to trigger strikes from bigger fish. Later in the Fall and Winter, as the water temps cool, like Gary preaches, the pause is the ticket!

Thanks BDO, I sure wish I had listened to your's and Professor Doug Hannah's advice, 20 some years ago! Course maybe it's a good thing I didn't, I'm sure to have become a cripple like you way too early in my life! HAR! HAR! HAR!

[sdavis24]

Bump for a good topic this time of year. Curious if anyone else has Delta jerkbait advice?

[Gary Dobyns]

Wow an old post revived. Our buddy Cooch even made a post on this one. He's definitely missed!!

Jerkbaits are a year around technique but it's a must have on the boat in winter and spring. Deadly as the water first starts to warm after the winter and through the spawn. There's not a lot of guys that throw jerkbaits on the Delta mainly because of the weed growth I'm guessing. But the anglers that do fish them, do very well. Most of the really successful anglers fish these once the water has really cooled down. I don't like to say a certain temperature as it varies but around 55 degrees and down. It doesn't get too cold either. Just slow down when it's really cold. Some of the best spots are the marinas and towards the backs of dead end sloughs. I'll fish the deeper running baits and try to fish over the tops of the grass. I still believe it's one of the easiest techniques going. Jerk-pause-jerk-jerk-pause and just vary your pause until you find how they like it on a given day. I rarely pause longer than 3-5 seconds between jerks and hopefully only 2-3 seconds. I know guys claim to pause 30 seconds but I'd lose my mind waiting that long It's a cover the water technique for me and getting them to react even when they're not in a feeding mode. Many times when you catch a fish you can make the same cast again and another one or even several!! A good Mod-Fast action rod works the bait the best. In NorCal lakes like Shasta, Oroville, and Folsom, I use a Champion 704CB. In the Delta I like a bit more power because of the grass and cover so I use one of our 705CB. Good luck!!!!

[mark poulson]

Wow an old post revived. Our buddy Cooch even made a post on this one. He's definitely missed!!

Amen.

[ash]

Ive had a few very fruitful days on the river with a jerkbait in hand - As Gary said the mouths of marinas, dead end sloughs etc... watching birds work is also a key factor i have been in em hot both strippers and largies running boils. The most effective was hanging it up in the grass of teh outside weedlines and popping it through. Those largies would just crush it.

With the spraying and grass situation we see today a soft plastic jerkbait may be more effective but there is a time and place on the river for that bait IMHO -

[Kyle46N]

Have a shallow and a deeper version on, and throw it between tule islands in sloughs on the Delta. Often you'll have the shallow ridge running between islands with sloping sides into the channel. Bass will move up and down that slope using the grass for ambush depending on the tide. Caught 2 sevens and some 5's within about two months returning from deployment last winter. So much fun, and easy once you find them.

[sdavis24]

Thank you to those that posted additional advice. Will start to add them into my Delta rotation.

[HavocTheBeast]

Jerkbaits are my favorite lures to throw all year round. I can throw it all day long and it's a lot of fun, plus I always get bit every time I use it.

The thing with jerkbaits is, you need a light rod and reel combo. I don't mean in terms of power rating, but weight, because flicking your wrist all day takes it toll on you.

My favorite current combo to use is my Spiralite Maverick 6'9 Med/ModFast rod (really light rod) and Lew's Pro Magnesium Speed Spool reel (coming in at 5.3oz).

You can find a much more lighter rods like the Abu Fantasista Premier 6'10" Med Lt or GLoomis GLX 6'6" Medium 782C MBR. The reason for shorter rods is for the weight reduction AND because your rod tip will almost always be down under the gunnel, which will keep the rod tip lower towards the water and flicking it will prevent hitting the boat (as opposed to using a longer rod).

As for reel, I would suggest the Lew's Pro Magnesium Speed Spool reel (5.3oz), Shimano Aldebaran MGL 50 (4.8oz), or the Abu MGX2 coming in at (5.0oz), or Abu MGXtreme2 (4.5oz), but that's going into the $800+ combo range, so it's definitely an investment.

As far as line goes, almost strictly flourocarbon only and anywhere between 8-12lb range for lakes. The lower the rating, the better the action. On the Delta, I sometimes use 12-15lb, but 15lb rating might not get you the correct action for the bait. Most of the time, I use 10lb all around (lakes and Delta) and it works fine. Just be careful if you get a striper to bite on your lure though.

Also, I only throw 2 jerkbait lures: Megabass 110+1 (medium/deep diving) because the original 110 doesn't dive too deep for my taste and Rapala Shadow Rap Deep. These 2 lures have caught me multiple fish all year round and work all the time.

Hope this helps.