Soft jerkbaits are versatile way to snag fish
Few soft baits are as versatile as soft jerkbaits, which catch a variety of gamefish species spring through fall.
Soft jerkbaits encompass a family of soft minnow-shaped baits such as Zoom’s Fluke (and Super Fluke), Case Plastic’s Sinking Salty Shad, and Winco’s River Darter. Typically they stretch out from 3.5 to 5 inches in length, and are well-laden internally with salt, which provides weight. Soft jerkbaits can be fished by way of several means.
UNWEIGHTED — When fished without any additional weight, soft jerkbaits do a great job of mimicking a wounded minnow, one struggling to right itself.
For flowing water smallmouth bass — ones found in rivers and warm-water streams — simply hooking the bait through the nose is often the best rigging option. This gives the bait plenty of freedom of movement; the angler has great control over what the bait does.
Hooks such as Gamakatsu’s Octopus hook in size 1 or 1/0 is a good choice. Hook the bait about an eighth of an inch from the tip. It doesn’t matter if you go through the side, or up through the bottom. When the hook hole gets worn from hooking fish, just switch to the opposite hooking option to get a few more fish, before it is torn clear through.
Angler manipulation is important with unweighed soft jerkbaits. In general, one imparts a series of twitches and pauses, the aggressiveness and timing of which can be tailored to the situation. More often than not, however, it’s better to go slow. Use a twitch or two to get the fish’s attention, a look like an impaired minnow. Then pause the bait, which lets it free-fall slowly. Pause the bait for several seconds. It’s at this time that most fish hit.
When rigged weedless-style, with a 3/0 or 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG (extra wide gap) hook, a soft jerkbait excels at coaxing largemouth bass out of submerged weedbeds. Again, use a cadence of twitch/pause to work the bait. When you see visible open patches in a submerged weedbed, be sure to kill the lure and allow it to sink down in the open slot.
WEIGHTED HOOKS — Keel-weighted hooks, the kind used with soft swimbaits, also work well with soft jerkbaits. Since they act like a splint they cut down the action of the bait. However, this options does get the bait to sink faster and attain greater depths. It’s an option for working deeper water, or when fish seem reluctant to rise up to eat an unweighted bait.
Keel-weighted hooks in the 1/16 to 1/8 ounce range work well for this rigging tactic.
JIG HOOKS — For walleyes, as well as northern pike and muskies, soft jerkbaits rigged on a leadhead jig can take fish. It also provides a good option for rescuing baits that have had the nose torn out from hooking fish, as well as providing a fairly large profile bait (when compared to a more classic jig/fake minnow combo).
Using scissors, trim about a quarter inch from the tip of the bait. This provides a nice flat surface to hook a jig. I especially like leadhead jigs like Gopher Tackle’s Mushroom head for this approach, as the flat backside of the jig nested neatly against the flat surface of the freshly trimmed bait.
Fish the leadhead/jerkbait combo as you would any leadhead jig, bouncing it along the bottom along lake drop off s and deeper river/stream spots.
Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.
