Favorite Jerkbait

Tis’ the season! Prime time is coming up soon (or already here for some!).
What is everyones favorite brand jerkbait and color too?

Mine would have to be a Rattlin’ Suspending Rogue and the Lucky Craft Pointer. Clown, Black/Gold/Orange, and Minnow/Tennessee Shad rank high in my tackle box.

Ross

1)husky jerk clown
2)wild shiner strike king
3)sinking shad rap
4)swiming image excaliber 3 and 4 are crankbaits that I use as a jerkbait at times a fluke are hard to beat for a jerk bait.

yes I agree with the clown rapala but I think that the fire tiger rapala made by storm takes the cheese. they seem to work better because of the rattles. shore shinner

Everyone,

How do you like to work these jerkbaits for early season LM or SM? Slow steady retrieves with long pauses, quick erratic snaps with long pauses, etc…? I am sure this depends on the mood a little each day but whats the general approach you take when first getting on the water in early season?
I have not fished the jerkbaits that often for early season bass but have heard alot about it and its got my attention. What kind of cover do you like to throw these baits to in either rivers or lakes?

Thanks guys.

I like to fish my jerk baits with a somewhat slow but steady retreive twitching it along the way. I mix up the twitching motion from short to long or vice versa. Depending on the fish as always. It takes practice. Start small, think big. The best thing to do would be to find some clear water and work it along the boat to see what looks best. Not all the baits run the same and not everybody will agree on what is the best bait.
Long pauses work best with the suspending baits. If the fish want the lure worked faster I will go the a floating Rattlin’ Rogue and work the daylights out of it. If they want it slow I will use a suspending bait because it stays in the strike zone longer.
My general approach it to use what worked best last year and start fom there. Imagine that. I like the chrome/blue or black. The clown colors work well but the water clarity here on pool #7 is good and doesn’t always require an unnatural approach. I also like the gold/black color. Like I said not everybody is going to agree w/ me. I would pick up a few standard colors based on the water clarity in your area.
I throw jerk baits alot along wingdams and shale drop-offs. They do work in weeded areas but much of the time spent clearing the bait of weeds. I will use a floating Rogue, Rap., whatever in weeded areas. This eliminates some of the weed hook-up problems.
These lures do require some water time. They aren’t like a DT-Series bait you throw out and crank back to the boat. In my experience, practice does make perfect when it come to jerk baits.

Fleck,

Thanks for your reply!
Everyone has their preference when working these baits thats for sure. What depths do you like to work the suspending jerk baits in? Whats your confidence depths in the section of river that you fish the most? How much does that depth differ from certain times of the year?

The depths I fish jerk baits vary from 2-8′ of water. As you know, wingdams vary in depths no matter where you go. I have some deep diving suspending Rogues I use for drop-offs in the spring also. They work great for those lethargic ‘eyes too. To tell the truth, I only fish hard bodied jerk baits in the spring and late fall. In May I usually switch to baits I know work best other than jerk baits. Some people fish Rogues, and other jerk baits like them year ’round and that’s great. I just have too many other tactics to use on bass.

1. Clown Rouge
2. Clown Rapala
3. Storm ( Really neat color, Light blue back , yellow sides with purple strippings)

I really dont fish Rouges on the River but they are a good cold water bait before bass start to key in on craws.

What are some of you favorite spring presentations for bass on the river.

Spinnerbait, jig and trailer and plastics.

husky jerk all the way, color really doesn’t matter to me, its all about the vibration and pause, mid sized husky is all around great for eyes and bass

I have had GREAT success with a fire tiger Thunderstick JR. I just lost my all time favorite last week after years and hundreds of bass on it I will spring for a new one but without the bite marks it wont be the same for a bit.

Haywood04,

I hate to tell you this (it was a shock to me when it happend too), but Thundersticks are not made like they used to be. Rapala bought them two years ago or so. Rapala changed them and came out with their own version which, in my experience, hasn’t been the fish producing crankbait that it once was

Thanks,

Jeff

DUDE,
That SUCKS!!
I really did like my thunderstick and I have had the old one for more than 2 years. I may have to go back out and see if I can recover it.
Thanks for the info.

Haywood!

Jump on eBay and search for “thunderstick” or “Storm”………something like that and see if anything turns up. Also, sometimes I find these “surpluses” of discontinued lures so I’ll keep an eye out for you too.

I used to love the storm jerkbaits until they changed them. I had a ton of them, then all my jerkbaits were stolen. I had a bunch of bombers that I loved and they have dicontinued my best colors. I have tried the new storms but they are nothing like the old ones. It is a little frustrating.

Eric Ahlstrom