"These are lures I use throughout the year," he said. "The difference is simply the speed at which I present them. Now during the warm water of summer, I work them really fast, as opposed to cold water, where I fish them much more slowly.
"I still use a jerk, jerk, pause cadence in my retrieve, just as I do in cold water," continued Palaniuk. "But now the pauses are very short, and my lure never really stops moving. It's constantly darting back and forth, so it probably resembles a fleeing or injured baitfish.
"Summer bass have a high metabolism rate, so they're feeding more aggressively than they do in winter, which is why the faster retrieve works so well. Bass must think it represents an easy meal, because a lot of quality fish hit it--not just small bass."
Palaniuk's favorite color for jerkbaits is a hue he calls mossback shiner, which features a darker back with a lighter silver belly. Pearl blue is another combination he's used successfully. Overall, he prefers to fish jerkbaits in clearer water, where he feels bass feed mostly by sight.
When fishing murky water, anglers often choose a darker color or something neon.
Many prefer suspending or slow-sinking jerkbaits over floating models in summer. Suspending jerkbaits usually weigh more, which generates greater casting distance, and they also stay in the strike zone longer. Floating jerkbaits usually get the nod when fishing areas where there are only a few feet of water between the surface and heavy weeds below.
Palaniuk favors using jerkbaits in summer over wide, often featureless, flats, where bass are roaming, rather than relating to any specific cover or structure. However, he doesn't hesitate to also use a jerkbait when bass are suspended or around cover, such as standing timber or deeper ridges.
"Jerkbaits will catch bass year-round," he assured. "And the reason they're so versatile is because you easily can vary your retrieve speed to match the conditions. I always have one tied on and ready to cast."
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