Posted by Woody on 2002 AM:

Posted by Woody on 2002 AM:

Reflecting on the season....JerkBaits

I know we all like to throw Jerbaits at the Beginning and End of the season...
I am looking for some advice on favorite types and setups...
I saw a guy pull up a nice 4lb by throwin a Rattlin Rogue in the weeds in the middle of the Summer!!!!
I need to work on fishing submerged weeds and have gone over the tops but not through...
Seems ALOT happens when you Rip through the weeds...
Also can anyone talk about favorite Soft Jerkbaits and favorite time to throw and setups..(Rod... Reel ...Line ect)
I am trying...
Thanks in advance,
Woody

Posted by earthworm77 on 2002 PM:

Woody, as far as soft jerks...I throw three. One is a Bass Assassin Super Finesse twitch worm that is 4.5" long and very slim. It is awesome. The next is a homemade fluke type bait that every handpour company has in its aresenal. Very similiar to the Zoom Fluke. It is another great bait. I have them in 4.5, 5.5 and 6.5 for Stripers. I like pearl white, smokin Shad and a color I call copper fantasy. The last is a slug go type bait that is made by Al's worms in California. It is a handpour and comes in some of the coolest colors. I like it a ton. I do most of my soft jerking with a 6ft Extreme rod and 6 to 8lb test Yo Zuri. Stradic 2000FG. As for hard baits, I like the Rogue, Husky Jerk and the Yo-Zuri baits. Haven't got a pointer yet but I most likely will.

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Posted by JPBass on 2002 PM:

Re: Reflecting on the season....JerkBaits

quote:

Originally posted by Woody
I
I need to work on fishing submerged weeds and have gone over the tops but not through...
Seems ALOT happens when you Rip through the weeds...

Woody

Woody,

You might wanna try a crankbait. Now this is NOT a finnese tactic. You need heavy line and a stout rod. I use 17 lb. test and a flippin stick. When you feel it grab a weed just RIPPPPP it through. This is a nasty way to fish and I hate doing it but it has been known to draw a strike from time to time.

A heavy spinnerbait or if the weeds are too thick,a texas rig is more to my liking for submerged weeds. If the weeds a sparse enough I like a c-rig too.

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Posted by JOHN G on 2002 PM:

Wood, if you are going to rip hard jerks through the weeds, man , you are in for one workout to your forearm flexors and pronators......I don't know, rethink that.......a spinnerbait will pull through those weeds much more efficiently than a jerk.....I have used them in the middle of the summer in early morning time, just after the topwater bite slows...... JOHN G

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Posted by "Wild Bill" on 2002 PM:

Rip Bits...Jerkbaits...Stickbaits..

call them what you want, but they are some serious fish catchers for me.
For floater/divers, I like the Yo-Zuri, the Rapala Minnow, the Long A. For Suspenders, the Yo-Zuri, The Husky Jerk, The Rogue, The Long A. I just got my first Lucky Craft, a gift from a CA buddy, and hope to throw it soon, as he says it is the best one the market[it should be...as it retails for $15].
My 'arsenal' of these baits goes from about three inch baits, to over seven inches long, as they draw many different species and size fish.
Try ,many differnet cadences with the speed and length of the twitch you employ when fishing these till you find one working that day. Sometimes they want it really moving..other timesslow with long pauses... go figure.
Tons of good softjerks out there. They are awesome fishing tools also, and definitiely a tactic that a savvy angler will know and employ with great confidence any time of the year. Watermelon or shad colors have been good for me in these baits.

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Posted by Rob J in WNY on 2002 PM:

Woody...

After using the suspending jerkbaits a tad last year and quite a bit this year, I have put together a setup that works very well for me. Husky Jerks work great, but I am ESPECIALLY fond of Rogues. Setup is as follows:

6' Med action Shimano Convergence rod with Shimano Curado 200B reel and 6/20 Power Pro line, marked up to break up its visibility.

Excellent rod for working the jerkbait with the hard twitch, twitch, pause........ type retrieve. Also a deadly-good topwater rig.

It seems to me that when you fishing presentations which require a low rod tip, a shorter rod works a bit better, to keep from slapping the water so much.

I've never tried working the Rogues though the weeds, but I cannot imagine it not working, come to think of it. Guess I need to 'think out of the box' and try that one.

Tight Lines...

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Posted by Travis on 2002 PM:

" I know we all like to throw Jerbaits at the Beginning and End of the season..."

I will leave other species out of what follows. Truth be told I would throw(and have) a stick from ice out to ice up. There is no season or calender period in which this bait takes a seat in the stick box for me. Sure it is easy to fish and catches a ton during the late pre-spawn but the beauty lies with the fact that most stop throwing them there or better yet where they could be using them that they wouldn't think of.

"I am looking for some advice on favorite... setups..."

For largemouths I would have two rod and reels. One , I use a 7 1/2 foot spinning rod with 8Lb test. This rod and reel set up I prefer for topwater twitchin(more on this in a bit). I also prefer the spin for tossing my choice of stick into wind so that I don't have to worry about the leaf in the wind affect. TWO) I would have a casting rod(probably the same blank as my spin Loomis 902). I would use this for rippin. 10 Lb test is fine on the caster. I would couple it with a TDX, Scorpion something along that order that I could make long bomb casts with over extensive weed flats.Rippin a stick THROUGH submerged weeds is a cover the water method. I mention the caster because for this application it excels over spin because of the lifting power that long rod has when a horse gets buried without ripping the hooks. I also say caster because this is a winching technique, feel is a moot point because you will know weed over fish.Trust me. This rod would double as my shallow crank/topwater rod(ie:small bagleys, Sugoi Fat frees etc). In both rods I want length and I want tip so as to not pull trebels but with backbone. The loomis 7 foot CBR is an excellent rippin and small crank/topwater rod. I can only speak of what I have used. Heavy mono or whatever the choice is not needed with sticks. But you want big fish to come out of cover ? It's easy, heavy mono will tend to make your stick want to weigh down as it takes on water over the course of the day and take away from its natural bouyancy. It is also not needed to go the heavy line route because you aren't setting the hook with a fervor with a stick. Reel up the slack and elevate the rod , reel down and fish are there. This is a fish take you reel them out technique. Reaction hit here, the bait is clipping along THROUGH not into the weeds and a fish has very little time to decide to take. They take more often than not. This method of rippin CANNOT be accomplshed with plastic. A tx. rig is going INTO because of the weight on the nose. Some try this method with plastic something or other and make LONG casts like what is being done with the stick. Not good try it. The difference between the rap and the plastic moving through the weedflat is the above but also the tx. rig is ON bottom and being pulled. The rap is mid column and being eratically retrieved. Bumping the stump to the tenth power. The rip if you will is what gets the fishes attention from along way off as views are limited because of the vegetation.

" I am looking for some advice on favorite types...."

You know what's coming here. Rapalas with a caveat. I have caught a good many fish on them right out of the box. For ripping THROUGH tops on weedflats it is still my choice. You have heard alternatives to a stick going through weeds. This is from people that haven't done it or if they have attempted it they have done it wrong. You will hear spinnerbaits. But I can't kill a spinnerbait and keep it in the fishes face. I must keep on reeling to keep it up and out of the trash, it also doesn't allow one to come to a dark hole in the weeds and make that bait suspend over that hole. Sure I can let it flutter down into a hole, no thanks. A spinnerbait will foul more going THROUGH weeds than a rap. Trust me. You will be picking junk off your ball bearing swivel all day. The same can be said for cranks, will they work sure. As good ? NOPE. I hear of a 1-minus being used. Not the same deal there either as that bait is ticking the tops at best but not getting INTO the weeds that may be as much as 5-10 feet thick with bass in the middle of them. Trust me, you can rip a Rap all day long without having to wear a weightbelt to do it. I make my LONG cast across this submerged weedflat I want to know where my bait is, easy just pause. Commence rippin. I call this rippin because that is the common term for it but actually with a rap in it is slither. A slight little crank/rod sweep and the bait keeps on truckin when momentary stops abound through the retrieve. MY CHOICE: I am making long bomb casts over weedflats and rippin through. With a plastic stick(that weighs more) I am going into the trash instead of though it. Keep in mind that plastic sticks weigh more. Weighing more isn't good. Weighing less with your stick you can still make long cast and your bait is getting down into without fouling as often. This is similar to the guy that throws a small tx. rig into the weeds, feels it coming through very nicely. Compare that to a heavy bullet on the nose and you are dive bombing ACROSS vegetation and through it with a salad that would rival that on the local eateries menu. This is NOT like rippin a Rattle Trap, similar area being fished, but a trap has no natural bouyancy, it is plastic and you are constantly fighting to keep the bait coming THROUGH when it wants to go IN. This is a wooden stick method. Rouges, Rebels, Bombers etc will work but even sun shines on a dogs butt once a day. This method with those plastic sticks IS tiring, with the balsa it is a quick pop not a pull/heave to get through weeds. I have used the Pointer Minnow a LOT but only in an effort to mimick that same action with my Raps. You can do this with an out of the box Rapala. I did it for years, still do on occasion. I like to drill mine(more on this in a minute). I don't use anything smaller than the #11 for this. I like the #11-#18. Some will say the #18 is too big. Hogwash. It is no bigger than a 6 inch lizard or worm that so many equate with bassin. This bait has a slim profile, no flaps, no wings. The #18 is a killer folks. NOW, what will dictate my size of the Rap I use is how deep the weeds are. A #18 I do NOT have to drill, modify nada from its original form(maybe shave the lip a bit). It gets down very nicely given its weight. The whole which one dilemma comes down to depth of weeds and fish mood.

Modifications: I drill these(not all). I have mine covered with silicone, this aids in hooksets and also aids in the bait coming through weeds. Take a look at your jerkbaits. Look at the back. See the teeth marks. This is something mine don't have. This is also a time NOT to kirb your hooks. Preferably I start out with the #13 as this is a good compromise between #11-#18. The fish will hit any of these. I have taken many 14 inch bass on a #18. What dictates me changing is the fishes reluctance to come up and out of the weed trash to take my bait if ticking the tops but more importantly is the size of the bass that are present in the flat and are buried that traditional flippin usually accounts for. This is a faster method until hunkering down to the broom. With the drilling I can get into the deepest of weeds with even a #11. The same depth I can get to using a non-tinkered 18. All depends on the fishes mood and meal size preference. the #11-#18 all come with three sets of trebels. I take the set behind the head off for this method of ripping. It isn't needed. It aids even further the baits ease of going through the mats I also don't heat the lip of the Rap to make it a wide wobble bait here. I like the tight little wiggle that balsa adds. Plastic baits have a wider roll another reason I don't like the plastic for this. I can modify a Rapala to walk the dog under the water(or on top) but i don't want this either as it is moving in a wide swath and is similar to throwing a cast net over every weed in the area. If drilling is beyond most peoples energy level, I would have the aforementioned #11-#18 raps and if the mood strikes some Bagleys. In addition I would on the remaining 2 sets of trebels crimp on a split shot to one if not both trebels if drilling a $5 bait is outlandish. Both wood. Both a large profile. Another trick: take orthodontic rubber bands and pin the hooks to the body, this bait is nearly weedless when doing this. Something I haven't ever spoken of but I do it for my rippin on occasion and for another technique. right here --->

Over the top: I know I know, there is a multitude of techniques that will take bass on top in emerging weeds. A buzzbait, A rat, weightless Lizard.etc etc. Those I can't quiver in ONE spot and still be happy with my hookup ratio that I get with a Rap.. I have to keep them moving. When you are dealing with submerged or emergeant weeds the Rapala shines again. You are ripping this extensive weedflat , you are taking fish here and there. You come up on emergent weeds. Look for the slightest of hole in that slop(casting accuracy is paramount), don't try to hit one of these holes from the back 40. Try and get as close to it as you can. Keeping in mind that whatever you cast over means the same cover that you have to bring a fish back through. Toss into this hole, anyplace where it looks like someone took a weedwacker and cleared a spot from the rest of the emerging weeds. Toss, let it sit. Let it sit some more. WHILE keeping the bait sitting there motionless, make it throw rings. Keep in mind that moving the bait a foot can take it into the side of the emerging weeds. Keep it in the hole. Throwing these rings without moving the bait is what I call quivering. Almost like your arm is having a spasm without seeing your arm move. This is for weed that is nearly to the surface and you see a dark hole OR are all the way to the surface and you're determined that there is a bass below. (more on this below) .

" I saw a guy pull up a nice 4lb by throwin a Rattlin Rogue in the weeds in the middle of the Summer!!!! "

You have a submerged weed flat. There are fish on these after the spawn right through ice up. There are ALWAYS largemouth on these flats. In summer I would be fishing these FAST. rippin away covering water.While you're doing this I would keep in mind the "holes" thicker clumps of weeds or perhaps you looked down and saw a bottom substrate change to a hard bottom that has gills hovering etc. Depending on the size of the flat I may even make a couple of swings through it at different angles. Remember this is a reaction strike. You may have come across the tail end of a bass and he sensed it but because you keep on rippin it is now out of his zone. Go back through and you may come across fish that now see it from a different angle. NOW. You make some passes through. You have ripped through a flat a couple of times horizontally. You have quivered a Rap in the dark holes motionless or perhaps in peak hole sized holes in emergent cover. I would go back to your original starting spot this time with the dark holes and thicker clumps in mind that you may have passed near when rippin. I have a 7 1/2-8(just under if in a tourney) foot stick in my hand. An extendable push pole is nice for this because you can drill it into the bottom and tie off onto it if weeds in the trolling motor are a concern or more importantly because you can get pretty close to a thick weedclump. This is an anchor without the muck in this situation. Remember what you cast OVER horizontally you are bringing fish back through. Fish it. Pull up the stake and go to the next clump or dark hole. This is VERTICAL. My choices are something big. A waterdog made by Snakebite tackle co. I like and is perfect for this. This is a big fish lure as is the Rap that didn't give them much time to think as it came rippin through their domain. With my method you rip through at a cople of different angles(wind doesn't matter). You have quivered just over the weed tops above the dark holes and then you have fished the obvious holes or bottom changes vertically. You NOW have picked that big weedflat apart. In summer I would now head off to a creek channel or deep outside weedline if fishing that flat first thing in the morning is your choice. It isn't my first thing in the morning choice.

If rip rap was available, outside edge of a pad field etc I would start the morning off there with something moving fast(small crank or Sugoi). Sun gets up I would move to a deep weedline with a drop shot to round out the limit. Timber is the order of the morning, a blade. MOVING. Sun gets hotter or whatever the conditions...I would then be on that weedflat (those fish stay there through summer). Hot muggy sunny putrid summer days....rippin that rap shines over others trying to fish the whole flat vertically. Woody, I mentioned a few weeks back to Gregg about pre-turnover fish on the flats.....hmmm. Even easier in this time frame as weeds will dictate the where. You now know the how, when and where.

Hope this helps.

T

Posted by Woody on 2002 PM:

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank You Travis,
I will get back to you in a day or so as I try to ingest the information you provided.
Holy Smokes...I wish I could figure out how to use my CD burner!!!
Awesome,
Woody

Posted by DR on 2002 AM:

Woody,

Copy/paste it to your MS word and save it. I DID!!

Hell of a job Travis. Master, master.

Now, listen up guys, if you fellows THINK that Suspending Jerks are for spring and fall ONLY your DEAD WRONG. I fish these baits YEAR ROUND like Trav mentioned. They ARE MY BEST AND BIGGEST FISH PRODUCERS EVER.

What do fish eat?? crayfish and OTHER FISH!!!!! Whats a SJerk immitate?? FISH!! What could Be SO SIMPLE as THAT???
I NEVER leave home without one tied on, NEVER in my past 3 years of using them.

Get it? use it, catch fish year round ON it! Thank me later.

DR

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Posted by JOHN G on 2002 AM:

you are right of course, DR,,,,,,I spoke to the Woodster last night and basically what I said was something I have repeated many times to others: there are so many lures and techniques that are fun to catch bass on, that even though I know there might be some that you can really use all year round, I say , why, when there are others that you enjoy equally well? so when fish segue from hard jerk preference to soft jerks and senkos as the water warms up, why not have fun and take advantage of that bite too? Right now, blade baiting will soon really come into focus and I sure as hell love that bite also....this summer , I had a ball on T-rig, I mean, it caught me that monster bass.....so, even though I know there is probably a way to adapt and fashion a certain lure to be used all season, I prefer to go with the flow because there are so many others I enjoy just as much.... if I had to quickly recapitulate the order of preference this year, I guess it kind of went like this: Snoozer tubes, hard jerkbaits, Brewers grubs, Thrashers and senkos, T-rig, Brewers worms, hard jerks and blade baits...........snoozers tubes will weigh heavily in late fall for me also again, right back to where I started out.....can I use them all season? why not, however, as I stated, so many other fun things to use also......JOHN G

Posted by Bassin Dude on 2002 AM:

Great Post Travis!

You're right too John G. So many lures...

Sometimes I go through my tackle and look at any new lures I purchased over the year. Always there are some lures there that I either never used or used very little. Then, I usually go out, and for the heck of it, I only use those lures.

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Posted by HookUp on 2002 AM:

Master Jerker

I've never fished much on jerk-baits, but early this year had some good luck on Rapallas.

A few months ago I had the honor of fishing with one on this board who just pulled them in and stacked them up like cord-wood on Suspended Jerk Baits. Great technique. Need to spend some time and take a second out on the house to equip myself with some jerk-baits.

Posted by Travis on 2002 AM:

John John John

I can lead a horse to water but.....

To the others. Thank you, my pleasure.

Trav

Posted by JPBass on 2002 PM:

Great post Travis

I especially liked the rubberband trick. I'm gonna try that. I use um on Senkos to get a couple extra casts out of them. Now yet another use.

Do orthodontists still use those things? Seems so midevil

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Posted by JOHN G on 2002 PM:

I know Trav, I know, and thanks so much for spilling your guts out on that post, very appreciated...... JOHN G

Posted by postcard on 2002 AM:

The Renegade line of jerkbaits has done very well this year, mostly from spring to mid summer.

renegade

crappie on Renegade

Smallmouth, largemouth and crappie hit them like no tomorrow and they run true right out of the blister pack. Not bad for $1.97 at Walmart