TackleTour

I've heard that jerkbaits are one of the hardest techniques for beginners to learn. Is there one you'd recommend to get started with? How would you fish it?

TS

It isn't that hard and when you get the hang of it you may end up liking it. My favorite bait is the spinnerbait followed by jerkbaits, if you want to learn all you need is a good suspending bait for the cold water and then it is just a matter of working it. For just getting your feet wet I'd get an Xcalibur EEratic shad, these are, or are going to be discontinued but the reson I say to get those is because they work well right out of the box and they are priced reasonably, if you look around you may find some cheap. I think you will also need a Rapala Xrap, the XR8, the reason is it works well out of the box and is reasonably priced but this one in that size is good when the fish need a smaller jerkbait and it is one of the smaller baits that gets down as deep as the 4" version. Throw it out and give the bait a couple of quick rips to get it down and then pause and give it 2 or 3 jerks and pause again, simple. Also, the colder the water, the more important that pause becomes and remember to jerk the bait on slack line, good luck.

I will be sprayed but pick up a rick chin or two and give them a try. There cheap and work. The rogue is another great first option.

Rapala X Rap

Hogsticker2 wrote:Rapala X Rap

I agree. They are inexpensive but are fish catchers. I like gold or silver with a black back. They are not that difficult to learn. Jerk, jerk, pause. Jerk, jerk, pause. The colder the water, the longer I wait in between the cadence.

I think that the LC pointer takes that for me.
Hard twitches and light twitches both work when you're figuring out how hard you need to jerk it.

If you want to go mid-high end for pricing, I rec the Duo Realis series. A little more than Rapalas and Xcaliburs but still less than LC and for sure MB.

angry john wrote:I will be sprayed but pick up a rick chin or two and give them a try. There cheap and work. The rogue is another great first option.

interesting choice of verb

The hotter the faster, the cooler the slower. You can do the opposite.

You can mix and match Jerk, Twitch, and Pause or even Retrieve

Xrap, RC STX, Rouge are good starting points.

If you fish for bass, I would buy a Megabass Vision OneTen jerkbait.
Proven killer for catching bass.

Cracker wrote:If you fish for bass, I would buy a Megabass Vision OneTen jerkbait.
Proven killer for catching bass.

I didn't want to scare him with the price. They are in my opinion the best there is but probably too expensive if you don't have confidence with a jerkbait.

njbasscat wrote: I didn't want to scare him with the price. They are in my opinion the best there is but probably too expensive if you don't have confidence with a jerkbait.

I think this is the best way to get that confidence
If TS fishes in clear water chances to loose it almost a zero.
I use jerkbaits a lot, because IMO it is one of the easiest way to catch fish, especially bass in 1-3 pound range.
I right now regret what I didn't start with high end jerkbaits, took me couple years to start buying them.

njbasscat wrote:

Hogsticker2 wrote:Rapala X Rap

I agree. They are inexpensive but are fish catchers. I like gold or silver with a black back. They are not that difficult to learn. Jerk, jerk, pause. Jerk, jerk, pause. The colder the water, the longer I wait in between the cadence.

I have to agree with this also, the RC STX and Rogues are also 2 other lower priced Jerkbaits, I think the Smithwick Rogue is the cheapest of the 3 but the X-Rap is a proven producer, I don't know where you live, but in SW PA Clown is a very good pattern on the Allegheny River for smallies and walleye.

I could never get a bit on an xrap but my Lucky Crafts work well. Probably out of your price range if you're just learning how to work a jerkbait. You might want to look into KVD's jerkbait. SK makes quality lures at reasonable prices.

G3Steve wrote:I could never get a bit on an xrap but my Lucky Crafts work well. Probably out of your price range if you're just learning how to work a jerkbait. You might want to look into KVD's jerkbait. SK makes quality lures at reasonable prices.

Mc Stick is a great for the money same with Duo.