Weighting Jerkbaits
In the spring, during the pre-spawn, bass begin moving toward their
bedding waters. It is during this time when the angler
can experience some of the best fishing of the year. Maybe the bass are
eating big in preparation for the spawn when they
don't eat much at all. Whatever the reason, I like it. In most of the
Northern part of the country the water temperature is
still rather cool at this time, and the fish are not overly active. They
are eating, but they are eating in slow motion.
Suspending Jerkbait:
a. There has been a great deal written about the
suspending jerkbait, and I probably cannot add to its already documented
effectiveness.
b. I usually purchase both suspending and floating jerkbaits
and weight them in order to control how it sits in the water.
c. The suspending Jerkbait has allowed me better luck fishing
the suspending jerkbait very slow.
d. Many times to get it slow enough, I need to ad weight to
it as well. This added weight will allow me to pause this back
for as long as I feel necessary
without moving it.
e. Vary your retrieve - after getting the jerkbait down to
the desired depth, experiment with the retrieve. Try quick,
snapping, jerks followed by doing
nothing but watching your line. Try sweeping the bait three or four feet
then doing
nothing. Try anything! Sometimes it
is some little something that triggers a strike. Just remember what you
did on every
cast. It would be a shame to catch a
fish and not remember what you did to catch it.
Weighting your Jerkbaits:
a. In the spring, I like to concentrate the weight
toward the front of the lure. This keeps the nose pointing down, and
each jerk, snap, or pull will tend to
force the lure deeper, counteracting the upward pull of the line.
b. In the fall, I do just the opposite with a jerkbait. With
the nose pointing up, each jerk, snap, or pull makes the lure
appear to be heading for the surface
in an attempt to escape. This requires placing the weight to the rear of
the center of
gravity.
c. Personally, I prefer to use weight strips that will stick
to my jerkbaits instead of clamping on pieces of lead. I don't
think one way is any better than the
other is; I just don't like the looks of a bait with a chunk of lead
hanging on the
hooks. (The fish apparently don't
care.)
d. I use stick on dots or strips to complete the weighting
process. Sometimes I paint over the lead, but I don't think it
really adds to anything except how I
view it.
e. Properly weighting a jerkbait is not an
easy process. I have spent as much as an hour tuning one lure to my
satisfaction.
I have consistently had better luck in the spring and fall using a very
slow presentation with suspending jerkbaits.
Research has indicated that a bass will always take the easiest meal,
and a minnow-looking offering just sitting there in
the water is much easier to eat than a moving crankbait or spinnerbait.
If your patience can hold out, try the
"Slo-o-o-o-o-ow" approach. If you think it is hard to keep it slow when
you start using this method, wait until the few
casts right after you catch a good fish.
