AUTUMN BASS!

Growing up, I often fished for bass in the tidal marshes of south Louisiana. Typically, I drifted across shallow, grassy flats less than three feet deep. Aquatic weeds matted the surface in many places, but stopped a foot or so below the surface elsewhere. Frequently, I caught more than one hundred bass a day on one lure. Sometimes, I’d catch a few redfish, speckled trout or even an occasional flounder on the same lure.

About 95 percent of the time, I used a black, gold and white Rapala Original Floater and fished it all day and all year long. Occasionally, I switched to a white Rapala with a black back when bass preferred chasing shad to smacking bluegills. Back then, I didn’t even know to call it a “jerkbait,” but I knew it caught tons of fish that made awesome strikes.

I fished it several ways. Typically, I tossed these highly buoyant baits near a reedy shoreline or grassy patch and let it sit on the surface until the ripples faded. When I jerked the rod, the lure dove a foot or two with an erratic side-to-side action. Then, it floated back to the surface where I let it sit for a few seconds before jerking the rod again.

Sometimes, I’d pop the rod hard enough to make the lure gurgle the surface, making a major commotion. I could also wake it just below the surface or run it two or three feet deep. Sometimes, I’d reel the lure steadily for a while and then pause to let it float to the surface. Then, I’d jerk it down to the depth I wanted again and continue the retrieve for several more feet. As it wobbled seductively through the water, the lure gave off significant vibrations that fish could feel. Commonly, bass followed it and hit right at the boat with vengeance. This lure and its many progeny continue to catch many species of fish.

“I love to fish jerkbaits,” commented Randy Howell, a former Bassmaster Classic champion. “They’re extremely versatile lures that can be fished in many different situations, particularly in water up to about six feet deep. I use them in the fall when the water starts to cool and fish start chasing

baitfish, but they are effective all year long.”

Describing any long, slender minnow-like diving lure with a small lip, jerkbaits come in various floating and suspending configurations. Anglers can choose wooden or hard plastic models. The short plastic lip gives it an erratic side-to side motion when an angler jerks the rod. Both types look like elongated crankbaits, but work very differently.

“Jerkbaits and crank-baits are in vastly different categories,” explained John Crews, a professional bass angler. “Although it has a lip, a floating jerkbait is actually a lot more like a top-water bait than a crankbait. A crankbait is more for fishing a steadier retrieve that makes contact with the bottom or hard cover. Jerkbaits are more for fishing higher in the water column so fish come up to eat them. More for a topwater presentation, wooden jerkbaits work very effectively during spawning season. Twitch them over bass beds.”

Floating baits made from either balsawood or plastic usually dive about one to three feet deep. These baits fill a niche between “true” topwater baits and deeper diving crankbaits. They work very well around such shallow cover as weedy shorelines or over submerged grasses growing to within a foot or two of the surface. They also work particularly well around dock pilings.

“A floating jerkbait has more of a twitching, popping action,” Howell advised. “Jerk it and it dives down. Stop and it floats back to the surface. It’s more like working a topwater bait. A floating jerkbait works best in shallow water around cover like stumps.”

By design, floating jerkbaits weigh very little. Adding weight to them or attaching a split-shot to the line affects lure buoyancy and action. Throw these light lures on a spinning rod equipped with 8-to 12-pound test monofilament line.

Slowly sinking or suspending jerkbaits look almost identical to floating models, but feel a bit heavier. These baits often come with rattles for more enticement. Some even enhance casting because metal pellets inside the bait move and transfer weight forward to make a bait sail much farther.

Both floaters and sinkers resemble baitfish and can work effectively in many situations. Since they can cover long tracts for water, jerkbaits make excellent search baits, but also catch fish. Both types work especially well for enticing schooling bass. For targeting schoolies, rip a suspending jerkbait through the baitfish school, making great flash and commotion. Then, pause so the bait hovers as if staring the bass in the face.

“Jerkbaits cause reaction strikes,” Crews said. “Programmed to eat the easiest prey, bass key on any injured or erratic baitfish. A jerkbait darting every which way gets bass fired up. It’s much easier for bass to catch and swallow a long skinny fish, which is what a jerkbait resembles, than a shorter, stubbier fish like a sunfish. Anytime a bass has an opportunity to eat a long, skinny baitfish, it will jump at the chance because it can get it down into its belly quickly and get back to doing what it was doing faster.”

Most pros choose suspending crankbaits, although they still throw a few floaters in certain situations. Suspending jerkbaits work particularly well when bass target shad. They also work in slightly deeper water than floating baits. Anglers can effectively fish suspending jerkbaits down to about 10 feet deep.

“I prefer suspending jerkbaits,” Howell advised. “Fishing a suspended jerkbait is totally different than fishing a floating jerkbait. A suspending jerkbait is a little heavier and people can throw it farther. We can keep it running in the strike zone. When the angler stops the retrieve, it just hovers in the strike zone, giving fish a chance to eat it. When it’s moving, fish often trail it. When it stops in their face, they eat it reactively.”

Toss a suspending jerkbait to a good area and let it sink. Anglers frequently estimate the sink rate by counting down by “one-thousands” for each second. Anglers can also make jerkbaits sink faster by giving the rod several vigorous jerks to make it dive. At the desired depth, jerk it so it darts and dashes. Then pause. Bass often strike as the bait sits motionless at the proper depth.

“Jerkbaits are very good for targeting non-active fish and provoking a reaction strike in the middle of the day,” Howell recommended. “To get really good with a jerkbait, fish it with a pop, pop, stop – pop, pop, stop cadence. Pause a couple seconds between the fall and the start back. That causes the bait to go side-to-side with kind of a walking motion similar to the action of a walk-the-dog topwater bait, but under the water. Most often, bass hit on the pause. When the angler goes to jerk it again, the fish is on the line.”

For fishing suspending jerkbaits, use a 7-foot medium-light to medium rod with a soft tip. Use 12-pound test fluorocarbon line. Fluoro-carbon sinks more than monofilament and virtually disappears in the water.

Simple to use, effective and hardly a secret, jerkbaits remain on the market after decades because they continue to catch fish. While they might not catch fish in all situations, they can frequently put a lot of fish in the boat quickly anywhere in the state.

‘I love to fish jerkbaits. They’re extremely versatile lures that can be fished in many different situations…’

Randy Howell

Former Bassmaster Classic Champion

Mike laconelli, a former Bassmaster Classic champion, lands a bass he caught on a jerkbait. The classic baits are timeless when it comes to bringing large bass into the boat this time of the Year

COURSTY

Andy Koundourakis shows off a bass he caught on a jerkbait. The famous baits make bass fishing easy.

COURTESY