Jerkbait question

[fishinFamily]

My apologies if this has been asked and answered but I couldn’t find it.

I’m somewhat new to fishing a jerkbait - when you guys cast it out, what do you do to get it to depth? Do you start twitching and pausing right away? Or do you reel down a few cranks? Something else?

thanks!

[f1maxis]

Usually reel down 5 or 6 turns (depends on the particular bait), then start working the bait

[OkobojiEagle]

I usually sweep my rod tip down, sometimes turning the reel one revolution before beginning my cadence. A deep diver I probably turn the reel two - three times. If I want to work the bait shallow I use a short rod sweep and work the jerkbait with the rod higher.

oe

[dwiebenga]

3 or 4 hard jerks to get it down.

[dabassking]

If I’m fishing shallow, I’ll start twitching at the get go. If I’m not in shallow water (5+ft), I’ll sweep the rod once or twice to get it to depth. If I’m fishing a deep jerkbait, I’ll sweep my rod a few times and start twitching from there.

[fishinFamily]

Thanks everyone! It almost sounds like I can just experiment and let conditions and personal preference dictate....

[Casslaw]

Thanks everyone! It almost sounds like I can just experiment and let conditions and personal preference dictate....

BINGO! If in throwing it up shallow I’ll start twitching it right away. If the fish are a little deeper I’ll crank it down 3-4 turns before working it. You just have to play with it every cast to see how to get them to respond.

[DrewFlu33]

One or two hard rips gets it to depth quickly, and doesn’t “waste” the first part of your cast like cranking it down will do.

Expanding on that last part because it sounds a little over the top: It seems like a when they’re on the jerkbait, most times you need to be really sure not to move the bait with the reel at all. Jerks should be on slack line so the bait really darts erratically, then settles on its own. You’re only using the reel to pull up extra slack, or to reel a fish in. So reeling the bait down to depth really just eats up part of the chances you have to get a bite in my opinion, plus it shortens the distance over which you can work the bait.

For what it’s worth, I’ve caught them reeling a jerkbait, often using a floating type like a wake bait or other types as a different profile than a crankbait. I wouldn’t call that a “jerkbait bite” though.

[WVBullet]

If it’s deeper water put that rod down and crank it 5-7 good turns, then work it. Shallow- well there’s several different presentations you can do. Just have to feel the fish out and see what they want. Try different presentations from fast to slow, erratic to straight line, jerk it let it set and repeat. So many you can try. Good luck!

[Fishysam]

for me and my lures i find a slow cadence single, moderate jerk multiplied 2-5 times gets more depth faster than hard rips or cranking

[Milehibird]

It's all experiment. Sometimes I'll just start with a couple rips. Other times I crank it down. I've had bites on the second rip right after the bait landed, and I've had bites while cranking it down. Just keep changing until you see what they want.

[slipknobber bot]

Personally I never crank a jerkbait down. Gotten hit way too many times on the first slack line jerk.

[bgibson]

This^^

[PolarKraft195]

Thanks everyone! It almost sounds like I can just experiment and let conditions and personal preference dictate....

Or let the fish dictate