How do you fish a jerkbait?

The key to fishing with a jerkbait is using your rod tip to give the lure its motion. You don’t want to just reel it in, in other words. When the jerkbait is still is when it looks like the dying fish that you want to attract the bass. Often you will get your hit right after you jerk your lure after it is still for a minute.

You will have to figure out the best rhythm to use for your jerkbait presentation. By rhythm I mean that you have to figure out if a twitch, twitch, twitch, pause, twitch, pause……. is going to be the best for you. That is the technique that I recommend but you can figure out your own.

The key is to use a twitch and pause combination. You can twitch the rod as hard as you want to to get the best action out of your lure. It all has to be done with a slack line.

What is the best color for a jerkbait?

Natural looking jerkbaits seem to work the best. You want to match the hatch so if the bass are feeding on minnows then you will want to use long skinny looking jerkbaits. If the bass are feeding on shad then you want a thicker, fatter jerkbaits to get the bass to hit better.

If the bait schools are not obvious to you then start with a skinny jerkbait and try something thicker if you are not getting any strikes. You just have to keep trying different retrieves and lures until you figure out what the bass are looking for on that day.

You will also want a selection that will cover the water column from the surface down to about 10 feet or more.

Another pro tip for fishing with a jerkbait is to fish with them when there is a slight chop on the surface of the water where you are fishing. The chop on the surface of the water will make it harder for the bass to get a good look at your lure. They are much more likely to hit your lure when the surface is rippling because they are seeing your lure from underneath.

What is the best rod and reel combo for fishing with a jerkbait?

The best spinning rod and reel combo for a jerkbait is a 7 foot medium/heavy power rod and a 2500 series reel will work just fine for catching tons of bass. Jerkbaits are usually fished away from structure so you don’t need a rod with a lot of backbone or a reel with a lot of drag. You would need a stiff rod with lots of drag if you are fishing around cover.

Spinning rods and reels are better for pitching lighter lures like smaller jerkbaits. If you are fishing with larger and heavier jerkbaits then you can use your favorite baitcasting rod and reel combo.

If you are using a baitcasting rod and reel combo then a medium/heavy power, moderate action 7 foot rod is the way to go. Your reel can be a 6 to 1 gear ratio with minimal drag of 10 pounds or so because you won’t need it for most scenarios. The reel speed is not as important when you are fishing with jerkbaits because you are fishing the lures on a slack line if you are doing it correctly.

Are jerkbaits good for cold water conditions?

Jerkbaits are excellent lures for fishing for cold water bass. The key to fishing for bass in cold water is pausing longer between twitches. The bass are much less aggressive when they are cold so take that into consideration when you are fishing for them with lures. They love to eat dying bait fish in the winter so a jerkbait is the perfect lure for cold and clear water scenarios.

If you are fishing in warm water, then you will want to speed up the retrieve and the twitches. You will also want to jerk the rod tip harder for warm water jerkbait fishing. The key is to fish this lure on a slack line. The reel is just for retrieving the slack out of your line.

The bass are usually down deeper in the winter months so you will need a deeper diving jerkbait to get at them. Bait fish die off in the winter months and the bass are focused in on that protein source. The deep diving jerkbaits perfectly mimic a dying bait fish in the deeper water. Often the bigger jerkbaits will work the best because the bass would much rather eat a big one than a little one for the same amount of calorie output.

What is the best fishing line for jerkbait fishing?

Most bass fishermen agree that a small diameter fluorocarbon fishing line is the best choice for fishing with a jerkbait. You will want to use a 6 to 8 pound test when you spool up your reel. Jerkbait fishing is a good choice for clear water conditions and the smaller and less visible the line is, then better your odds of getting a bass to hit are.

Fluorocarbon line does tend to sink but the smaller lines are less apt to sink. A sinking line is better than a floating line like the mono filament lines will do. The fluorocarbon line has a better feel than mono filament line so you can feel the bite better with fluorocarbon fishing lines.

What are the best suspending jerkbaits for bass?

There are all sorts of suspending and deep diving jerkbaits that will catch a ton of bass. You just have to get yourself a few different jerkbaits that will perform in different parts of the water column. You will need one for the top of the water column. You will need one that is good to 5 feet or so under the surface and you will need one that will go down deeper to the next layer of the water column too.

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