Like many of you, I love to fish jerk baits. I find them to be a very exciting bait to use due to the many types of actions you can produce simply by twitching, ripping and jerking them on a retrieve. They can be ripped through weeds, fished over rock humps and they have an uncanny ability to call fish up from water as deep as 30 feet. This lure is definitely versatile. It can be fished slowly or quickly and can create strikes that would otherwise have been missed using another bait. I like to use them in the spring for those post-spawn fish that are just getting used to chasing a bait again. Fish them slowly to start off, twitching the lure sporadically and then let it pause for a second or two. It's amazing how many curious onlookers follow these baits, just waiting to see what it is or what it's going to do. The pause is generally that window of opportunity that the fish is waiting for. This is when the natural instinct of the fish kicks in and says, "Eat it!" Whether it is a hungry fish or just one whose natural instinct is to defend its territory, one thing is for sure, fished correctly, this lure can make a fish bite. As with all lures, do not be afraid to experiment with the retrieve of the deadly jerk bait.
I have to say that I do have a preference in the type of jerk bait I use, but model type is not necessarily a factor. However, make sure you buy quality baits as these tend to have the right action built in from the factory and need little, if any, tuning. One thing I do insist on is that the lure is a suspending model with a rattle chamber. Due to the way that I fish these baits with a twitch and pause retrieve, it is imperative that the bait suspends in the water column, in the strike zone of an interested predator. The rattle allows the fish use its lateral line to home in on the object from a greater distance or to better locate it in murky water.
Another incredible quality of the "Jerk" is that it is used successfully on a variety of game fish from perch to musky. My favorite species to chase with it are musky, pike and smallmouth bass, due to their willingness to follow and hit these baits with ferocity. In the summertime, I will generally fish the jerk fairly fast, reeling quickly and incorporating fast twitches and jerks to present the fish with what resembles a wounded baitfish trying to escape a captor. This method does not give a hungry or angered fish time to think whether he wants to hit it or not. Its reflex generally takes over causing it to lash out at the fast moving imitation. This is not always the case and as I said before, you must experiment with your retrieve. Don't just up and leave a spot that you are confident with just because they didn't bite on that particular presentation. If you are fishing fast, switch to a slow retrieve letting the bait pause for a while (5 to 10 seconds if necessary) and vice versa. You may be surprised at how many more bites you might get on a spot just by downsizing your bait from a 5-inch model to a 4-inch model. Try using ultra light spinning tackle for smallies with light line and a 2 to 3 inch jerk (the size you might generally use for perch or other panfish). If they're not hitting the big ones, try different colors to tempt them.
As far as tackle goes I recommend a good quality 7ft medium action graphite rod with a fast tip. You want the rod to have a fair bit of give to act as a shock absorber when these bruisers hit your moving bait. Don't go cheap on a reel either. You don't have to spend a fortune but buy something that is good quality and that you can cast comfortably with. You are going to be making a lot of casts with this outfit, so make sure that you try it out and that you are comfortable with it before you hand over your hard earned money. A good overall line weight is 12 to 14lb test (good quality) monofilament. I personally do not like those so-called super lines for repetitive casting. I like the mono as it has stretch and helps to absorb shock. Let's just leave it at that.
Your hooks are more important than a lot of you may think. Just because you have 2 to 3 treble hooks dangling off your lure doesn't mean you can neglect to check them. They have to be razor sharp in order to be effective. If not, you're just asking for trouble and will lose a lot of fish. Personally, I remove all the factory hooks on a new lure (unless the lure comes with after-market hooks) and I replace them with the VMC treble hooks. They are chemically sharpened and are therefore extremely sharp. These high quality hooks help hook the fish and keep them there. If you don't want to go to this expense, buy a good hook file and don't leave home without it. Touch those hook points up while you're fishing from time to time.
As far as colors go, that's for you to experiment with. A good rule of thumb is to use something that resembles the forage the fish are eating in that particular lake i.e. perch, shad and fingerlings of the game fish that you are after. However, you should still carry some brightly colored baits and try them too. On the right day, it is possible that something different or out of the ordinary can get a good bite. To me it is all in how the bait is fished, rather than the color.
Fall and winter fishing can be a lot of fun with the jerk. This is when we generally slow our retrieve right down. This is also the time that big pike and musky are on the prowl, getting ready for a long winter. Despite their uncontrollable urge to eat, they are often not too willing to chase huge baits. This is when the jerk can be very useful. We have caught a number of big pike and musky using 5-inch jerks, fished extremely slowly. (Remember to use a fine wire leader to prevent losing lures). We cast out and reel the lure down under the surface, gently twitch it 2 or 3 times and let it sit for 5 or 6 seconds and repeat this back to the boat or shore. It takes patience, but it works. So many fish hit the bait when it's at a pause, it's unbelievable! This method is commonly referred to as "dead sticking". Try this over rock piles early in the morning and across points, drop offs and areas where the weeds are still green, preferably adjacent to deeper water. Many times we fish on or near our summer spots but simply slow down our presentation, staying to the deeper sides or areas of these spots. Low light and murkier water conditions seem to pay dividends this time of the year.
