FYI...How to fish hard jerk baits
Posted: March 27th, 2008, 5:34 pm
Floating Jerkbaits for the flats,
I found this article. Thought it might help some of you new guys.
Floating varieties of Rebel Minnows, Smithwick Rattlin’ Rogues and Bomber Long As rank among the best fishing lures ever made for catching mid-summer largemouths, partly because they are so diverse in the ways they can be fished. Let’s examine a handful of ways floating jerkbait lures can be worked for great results during the warm months, when bass often look toward the surface in search of dinner.
TWITCHING & PAUSING
When the fish are looking up but conditions call for subtlety, tie on 4 1/2-inch Rebel Minnow and stick with slow surface presentations. Let all the ripples go away after you cast the fishing lure and then work the bait with very gentle twitches of the rod tip broken by significant pauses. Also try an ongoing series of quick but very slight twitches.
PULLING & PAUSING
The classic way to fish a floating minnow bait is to sweep the rod tip a foot or two, causing the bait to dance and dive, and then let the lure pop back to the top. On a tight line, the lure will wobble on the way up. On a slack line, it will pop up faster and straighter. Experiment with lengths of pulls and pauses and with specific baits. A Rattlin’ Rogue and a Long A have very different wobbles when pulled down at the same speed.
RIPPING
When bass suspend over open-water structure, which they commonly do through the summer, one of the best ways to draw strikes from those fish is to rip a jerkbait very aggressively, pulling hard and fast and cranking steadily to keep the slack out of the line. Fish over points and humps where baitfish are present and brace for hard strikes. Use eye-catching colors like clown or baitfish-imitating color patterns like chrome/blue back.
SWIMMING
As overly simple as it might sound, sometimes the best way to fish a jerkbait is simply to cast it toward a bank or beside cover and crank it back. Much like cranking – except with a narrow-profiled offering that stays fairly shallow – swimming a minnow bait allows you to cover a lot of water and search for aggressive fish.
WAKING
When the water is dead calm, one of the best way to bring bass to the top is to cast a floating minnow bait along riprap banks or over points and humps and reel slowly and steadily with the rod kept high. The bait will wobble but stay on top and will send out a wake. Waking a Long A is the essence of subtlety. A Cotton Cordell Red-Fin kicks out a much more notable wake and offers a great imitation of a gizzard shad swimming on the top.
MIXING IT UP
Often, the best presentation doesn’t fit neatly into any one category. It may be a mix of twitches and pulls, a steady swim with pauses mixed in or a waking action broken by targeted pauses. Work your bait a bunch of different ways and let the bass decide.
I found this article. Thought it might help some of you new guys.
Floating varieties of Rebel Minnows, Smithwick Rattlin’ Rogues and Bomber Long As rank among the best fishing lures ever made for catching mid-summer largemouths, partly because they are so diverse in the ways they can be fished. Let’s examine a handful of ways floating jerkbait lures can be worked for great results during the warm months, when bass often look toward the surface in search of dinner.
TWITCHING & PAUSING
When the fish are looking up but conditions call for subtlety, tie on 4 1/2-inch Rebel Minnow and stick with slow surface presentations. Let all the ripples go away after you cast the fishing lure and then work the bait with very gentle twitches of the rod tip broken by significant pauses. Also try an ongoing series of quick but very slight twitches.
PULLING & PAUSING
The classic way to fish a floating minnow bait is to sweep the rod tip a foot or two, causing the bait to dance and dive, and then let the lure pop back to the top. On a tight line, the lure will wobble on the way up. On a slack line, it will pop up faster and straighter. Experiment with lengths of pulls and pauses and with specific baits. A Rattlin’ Rogue and a Long A have very different wobbles when pulled down at the same speed.
RIPPING
When bass suspend over open-water structure, which they commonly do through the summer, one of the best ways to draw strikes from those fish is to rip a jerkbait very aggressively, pulling hard and fast and cranking steadily to keep the slack out of the line. Fish over points and humps where baitfish are present and brace for hard strikes. Use eye-catching colors like clown or baitfish-imitating color patterns like chrome/blue back.
SWIMMING
As overly simple as it might sound, sometimes the best way to fish a jerkbait is simply to cast it toward a bank or beside cover and crank it back. Much like cranking – except with a narrow-profiled offering that stays fairly shallow – swimming a minnow bait allows you to cover a lot of water and search for aggressive fish.
WAKING
When the water is dead calm, one of the best way to bring bass to the top is to cast a floating minnow bait along riprap banks or over points and humps and reel slowly and steadily with the rod kept high. The bait will wobble but stay on top and will send out a wake. Waking a Long A is the essence of subtlety. A Cotton Cordell Red-Fin kicks out a much more notable wake and offers a great imitation of a gizzard shad swimming on the top.
MIXING IT UP
Often, the best presentation doesn’t fit neatly into any one category. It may be a mix of twitches and pulls, a steady swim with pauses mixed in or a waking action broken by targeted pauses. Work your bait a bunch of different ways and let the bass decide.
