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Jerkbaits, without question would definitely fall in the "Top-10"
category of all artificial baits used by
Tournament Anglers in today’s bass fishing mostly because these
types of baits have proven themselves
over and over to not only catch bass in numbers, but they catch
quality bass as well. One of the primary
reasons that these baits are used by so many anglers is because
Jerkbaits are considered to be one of the
more versatile types of baits on today's market and can literally
be fished just about anywhere at any time.
There are many different techniques and presentations you can
use when fishing with a Jerkbait, I’ll explain
a few of the more popular presentations in hopes to help
you increase your success rate when it comes to
catching bass.
First of all, I’ll cover some of the more popular techniques for
"Top Water Fishing" while using these
Jerkbaits. Let’s say that you pull up into a area where you would
find thick floating vegetation in about 1 to
6’ depth of water, and this vegetation is covering the surface
with very little exposed open water pockets, a
"Soft-Jerkbait" would be the preferred jerkbait to use
in a situation like this simply because of the "weedless
rigging" it allows you to use to keep from getting caught
on the vegetation. In a area such as this, you would
rig the "Soft-Jerkbait" without any added weight at
all and rig it as a "Texas-Rig" using a wide gap hook.
Now you’re ready for business!..... Cast the bait into the midst
of the vegetation and make short twitches
periodically letting the bait lay still on top of the vegetation,
then keep repeating this technique all the way
back to the boat. If you don’t have any vegetation on your body
of water, then cast the bait over submerged
structure areas.
Now, let’s say that you are into an area that has scattered vegetation
with pockets of open water at the
same depth, you can use either a Soft or a Hard Jerkbait, but
keep in mind that a "Hard-Jerkbait" has
exposed hooks already fastened to the bait (which means it is
easy for the bait to get caught-up on this
vegetation). With either bait, cast it into these open pockets
of water, make a couple of small sharp twitches,
then let it lay still for a moment. Usually after the bait lays
still, usually the first twitch after this still period is
mostly the time when a bass will strike!, so be ready. Or in this
same area (using a Soft-Jerkbait), add a little
weight to the bait to where the bait will slowly
drop to the bottom. Again, let it lay there for a moment, then
make a couple of small sharp twitches lifting the bait back up
to the surface and let it drop again. You will
find that this technique can be very rewarding if you give it
a try. This technique will work around structure,
rip-rap, docks, fall-downs, bank edges, trees, stump areas, and
just about any areas fishable.
Now, let’s move out into deeper water areas to where you may have
6 to 10’ depths. These same
techniques already mentioned for surface and sub-surface patterns
will work just as well in this deeper water
(especially around and on top of submerged structure and vegetation),
but now let’s fish a little deeper with
these baits. In the case of the "Hard-Jerkbait", select
one that suspends and or has a diving-bill on the front
of it to get it down under the waters surface. Most of these "Hard-Jerkbaits"
will be made for the depth of
water you choose to fish (the bigger the front bill, the deeper
it will go). Now, choose one for a 8’ depth, cast
it out, start your retrieve to get it down to the desired depth,
then start jerking or twitching it a few times than
let it lay motionless for a moment. Keep repeating this technique
all the way back to the boat, however,
when the bass are more active, you can just twitch and jerk the
bait all the way back to the boat without any
pause. One factor to always remember when bass fishing is: "Always
let the bass dictate how they want the
presentation!" Now, let’s use a "Soft-Jerkbait"
in this same area. To get the "Soft-Jerkbait" down in
deeper
depths you can rig it actually three different ways. 1. A Texas-rig
with a front weight. 2. A Straight-rig with a pencil weight, or
nail weight inserted into the bait itself. 3. A Carolina-rig with
the bait free floating attached to
the leader line of this weighted rig. Either three of these riggings
will allow you to work these "Soft-Jerkbaits
at deeper depths.
Although
I’ve cover some of the basic presentations with these Jerkbaits,
there are many more! I would be
happy to answer any questions that you may have concerning bass
fishing in general. I teach many students
at my 3-Day "On-Water" Bass Fishing School all phases
of recreational as well as tournament fishing
techniques with a focus on "Individual Personalized Instruction."
If you want to be much more successful
about bass fishing, contact me for information about this 3-Day
"On-Water" Bass Fishing School........
Until Next Time!
Take Care & God
Bless!....."The Bass Coach"
Please visit my sites
at:
<www.capital.net/~rlbrown>
<www.fishing-boating.com/basscoach>
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