A few weeks ago, I explored the use of spinner and spoons for winter trout. Add another option to the “hardware” category: suspending hard jerkbaits.

While spinners and spoons have a lot of commonality, hard jerkbaits are a bit different. The steady, easy-to-eat retrieve that works well when fishing metal baits doesn’t apply to jerkbaits.

If you pause a spinner or a spoon for more than a second or two, it sinks to the bottom.

However, with jerkbaits the pause is often the trigger. Since the lure suspends in the water column -- neither rising nor sinking appreciably -- it can hang maddingly in front of a reluctant trout, provoking a strike. Jerkbaits provide the option of presenting hardware in a slower manner. They are available in sizes more appropriate for larger streams and bigger trout.

The basic jerkbait retrieve calls for a couple turns of the reel after splashdown to get the bait subsurface and swimming. Then impart a cadence of jerks and pauses, varying such depending on the current. Generally, slower current, longer pause. Faster current, shorter pauses. Once you’ve taken a couple fish on jerkbaits, and gain confidence in them, you’ll be on your way to adapting their use to the given situation.

For suspending jerkbaits, I prefer a bit longer rod. A 6.5-foot light power, fast/extra fast action is best for imparting action into the lure. 1,000 or 2,000 sized spinning reels mate well with such rods. For jerkbaits, I suggest braided line, such as Sufix 832 in 10-pound test. Like the stiffer rod, the no-stretch qualities of braid assists in working the lure as well as detecting hits, ones that often come on slack line.

Tie in a three-foot section of eight- or 10-pound test fluorocarbon line as a leader.

The downside of suspending jerkbaits is that they can be tough on fish, particularly if they strike the belly hook. The tail hook often ends up in the delicate tissue near the gills. For that reason, I recommend pinching down the barbs and snipping one tine off each treble hook. This will make unhooking fish easier with less damage.

THREE GREAT SPINNERS, SPOONS, AND JERKBAITS

Blue Fox Vibrax Spinner – A wide selection of Vibrax spinners is available to cover a variety of trout fishing scenarios. I’m partial to the Classic version in sizes 0 and 1, the latter weighing in at 1/8 ounce, the former a bit less. Another good option is the Vibrax Bullet Fly which features an inline blade (no clevis) which provides more vibration. It also has a dressed treble hook. The size 0 Bullet Fly goes 1/8 ounce, the size 1 tips the scale at 3/16 ounce.

Acme Sidewinder Spoon – My first lure-caught stream trout, taken over 50 years ago, came from a generic spoon, part of a grab bag of lures of questionable quality. But that little spoon, which strongly resembled the present-day Sidewinder, was a trout killer. The Sidewinder comes in five sizes, the smallest 1/8 ounce, being the most appropriate for the situations described here.

Rapala X-Rap – The smaller sizes of the original X-Rap are well suited for stream and river dwelling trout.

The smallest (XR04) is merely 1.5 inches in length. The XR06 measures 2.5 inches and is most appropriate for medium sized streams. For bigger water and bigger fish, the 3 1/8-inch size 8 is an option. Regardless of the model of jerkbait, consider the hook modifications mentioned earlier to make the lure more fish friendly.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle