What I'm Learning About Suspending Jerkbaits

The primary lesson I've learned since starting this latest pursuit a few weeks ago is that cadence is the key. There's a catch, though: The cadence that works today may not work tomorrow. So each trip forces a certain degree of experimentation until you find out what the mood of the fish is on any given day for the area you're fishing.

One thing that experts seem to agree on, as revealed in most of the instructional videos I've watched, is that, in cold water, you should use softer jerks with longer pauses, as opposed to the harder jerks with shorter pauses that evidently work better in warm water.

In the past few weeks, I've had some fish snatch the bait and run with it during the pause. On other occasions, most notably this past Saturday, the fish just smacked the bait hard right where I had paused it--so hard a couple of times, I easily could have lost a rod if I hadn't been holding on tightly.

As it turned out, that's exactly what nearly happened with one of the chunky white perch I caught Saturday. His solid hit triggered a spasm in my arthritis, which, in turn, caused me to loosen my grip on the St. Croix crankin' stick and Lew's reel in my hand. A last-minute desperation grab is all that saved the day.

I've also had a few fish simply jerk back after one of my slack-line jerks (the slack line can't be overemphasized, say the experts), but that's far and away the exception, not the rule. And given all the information I've read to date about jerkbait fishing, my experiences thus far seem to fit the standard mold. The experts tend to generally agree on the fact that, 9 times out of 10, your strikes with a suspending jerkbait will come during the pause.

Another popularly held belief among the experts appears to be that jerkbait fishing is best when done in clear water. While these anglers may represent the majority, there are some who say they also can catch fish with suspending jerkbaits in water ranging anywhere from stained to downright muddy. A few in this latter group even contend they feel more confident in muddy water. Why? Because, they say, this muddy water forces the bass into shallower water.

These anglers are quick to admit they won't be able to go out and slay a concentration of fish under such conditions. However, they do express confidence in their ability to catch a tournament limit of quality fish--enough to win some of these events.

Fishing suspending jerkbaits in dirty water, according to its supporters, usually pays the biggest dividends in spring and fall, when most bass frequent the shallows. They say that a warm, sunny day in early spring pulls bass closer to the surface (within a foot or two) and makes them more active--the result of dirty water retaining heat longer.

Another important point to remember here is that, while bass will move 20 feet or more to take a jerkbait in clear water, they likely won't move very far at all to take the same bait in dirty water. As a result, you need to keep the distance between your casts closer together (probably no more than 5 feet) to cover an area thoroughly.

Yet another important consideration when fishing a jerkbait in dirty water, say the experts, is ensuring the lure creates a highly visible silhouette. For that reason, they advise you to avoid reflective silver finishes, relying instead on darker colors, such as gold with black back and orange belly, dark watermelon, baby bass, and firetiger.

In most cases, jerkbait fishermen use about a 6-foot 6-inch to 7-foot, medium-action graphite baitcasting rod and a reel filled with 12- or 14-pound-test line. The jury is still out on whether that line should be fluorocarbon or monofilament. Look around the Internet for a while, as I have, and you'll find some pretty convincing arguments for both.

Since I'm still trying to sort out what works from what doesn't work on a personal level, I'm going to, as they say in a TV commercial for Little Ceasars Pizza, "go off the grid" and test some Spiderwire Ultracast Fluoro-Braid. I just found a spool of it the other day in the back of my closet. According to the box this line comes in, it possesses "all the attributes of a premium superline in the first true sinking braid." Maybe it'll prove to be a happy medium for both fluorocarbon and monofilament. If it doesn't, I also have a new spool of Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon in 12-lb. test sitting on my desk, ready to go.

As for how to work a jerkbait in dirty water, the experts recommend a very slow twitch and pause. The object, according to them, is to keep the bait dancing from side to side, with only minimal forward movement. Move it ahead too fast in dirty water, they caution, and the bass won't have time to react. Most suggest twitching the bait three or four times and working it down about 6 inches, then letting it float back to the surface. Forward movement never should exceed a foot between pauses, they say.

On a final note, while many bass fishermen only use jerkbaits in the fall, winter and early spring, tournament pro Mike McClelland keeps one of these minnow-imitation stickbaits tied on year-round. This Arkansas pro developed the McStick jerkbait for SPRO specifically to be used all 12 months of the year.

In his words, "The primary difference between cold-water and warm-water jerkbait fishing is how and where you fish the lure... ." To find out what he recommends, click on this link: http://www.spro.com/searchresults.asp?cat=218.

Tight Lines! one and all.