Jerkbaits in the winter

The water is 52 degrees or below, the air is crisp and winter has begun. It's at this point that a jerkbait is a great bait to have tied on. 

Now this time of the year you want to use a suspending or slow sinking jerkbait. The reason for this is the bass are suspended and lethargic. So you want the bait to suspend above them or slowly sink to them. This keeps the bait in their face longer rather than floating back up to the surface. 

I also like KJsCustom Lures jerkbait's for this time of year. They have an amazing action but the key for me is their ability to match the hatch. I sent pictures of the my local forage and they were able to duplicate it exactly what I wanted. With that said there are some other key things to take into account before choosing the color of bait. For sunny calm days you want less flash almost clear and for windy overcast days you want more flash.

My rod setup is a ManleyRods custom MH 7'2 moderate tip cranking rod with a Lews Speed Spool 7:1. This rod gives you plenty of flex in the tip allowing a great action but still has the backbone for a great hook set. The high speed reel allows me to get the bait to its depth quickly and allows me the ability to pull up the slack extremely quick.  The key when working this bait is to cast it out then immediately reel it down to its depth 5 or 6 quick cranks will typically have you there. Then you want to pause for roughly 45 seconds on a slack line. Then jerk the bait but do not reel immediately point the rod tip back at the bait. Repeat this process back to the boat.  Your watching for a jump in your line that is your strike indicator. Play around with the pattern jerk jerk pause jerk pause jerk jerk etc to find what the fish are wanting.

Until next time
Tight Lines and Screaming Reels
EastTNKayakAngler