Jerkbaits 101 The Complete Jerkbait Lure Guide

Table Of Contents:

• What is a Jerkbait
• Types of Jerkbaits
• How To Fish Jerkbaits
• Popular Colors of Jerkbaits
• Jerkbaits for Bass, Walleye, Pike, Musky & More
• The Best Jerkbait Brands
• Best Jerkbait Fishing Techniques
• Jerkbait Fishing Recap

Jerkbaits 101: What is a Jerkbait?

A jerkbait is a hard fishing lure that has a narrow, long body that is designed to mimic wounded or injured baitfish, they get their name from their signature twitch or “jerk” retrieval motion. They typically have a lip on the front that helps them dive into the water column, and can range in size form a couple of inches to up to 9 inches! Jerkbaits were brought to the water in 1936 on lake Paijanne in southern Finland when Lauri Rapala, yes that Rapala, made the first floating minnow-style lure according to Bassmaster. He noticed that fish were more likely to eat an injured fish than a healthy one, which is why he tried to design his lure with the iconic wobble motion.

Through the years, innovation and technology have modernized one of the most iconic fishing lures ever. In the 1970s & 1980s plastic versions became popular in counter to the original wooden design. In the 1990s even more technology was added by Megabass to create the suspending jerkbait which sits in the middle of the water column, where as the original would float on the surface. Modern jerkbaits have improved dramatically with advancements in action, casting distance, realism, and triggering more strikes. There are a couple of key advamncements in jerkbait technology recently including:

1. Precision Suspending Technology
2. Deeper Diving Designs
3. Internal Weight Transfer Systems
4. Sound & vibration Chambers
5. Hyper Realistic Presentations
6. Stronger Hardware & Sharper Hooks
7. Longer Casting Distances

Even with all these improvements, my personal favorite are still those classic floating Rapala jerkbaits. I grew up learning to fish with them, and go Pike & Musky fishing in Canada, mostly using them. They mean so much to me that I even got one tattooed on my arm, so I am a little biased when it comes to these lures. However, that’s not to say that I don’t also really enjoy modern designs, and throw those too.

Types of Jerkbaits

Suspending Jerkbaits

Suspending Jerkbaits are arguably one of the most popular options for bass. They are called a suspending jerkbait because they don’t float, but they also don’t sink to the bottom, they hover or “suspend” in the water column and are twitched through the water perfectly representing a wounded bait fish. They typically come in smaller and medium sizes making them great for bass fishing. My Pick: Berkley Stunna 112

Jointed Jerkbaits

Jointed jerkbaits have multiple bodies connected by hinges or joints that help create extra swimming motion and can present a more natural movement in the water. They will give you a wider wobble which can trigger aggressive strikes when fish are feeding. They are great for aggressive, feeding fish in warm stained water. My Pick: Rapala Jointed Minnow

Deep Diving Jerkbaits

The deep diving jerkbait is designed with a much larger lip or bill that helps them reach depths of 15 feet deep or even more depending what you are using. They are an excellent option for fishing deep structure, ledges, drop offs, and deep points. These are an amazing option for Walleye fishing especially up here on Lake Erie. My Pick: Rapala Down Deep Husky Jerk OR if you are fishing the great lakes, like Lake Erie for walleye, you gotta go with the Bandit Walleye Deep Diver

Lipless Jerkbaits

Lipless jerkbaits are made without the diving lip, or bill and rely on the weight of the body and hooks to sink and vibrate when you reel them in. Some fishermen consider these a separate category of lure all together, but in my book you can still jerk and twitch them around getting the same effect, so these are still jerkbaits. Some of these also have rattles in them to increase the vibrations making them effective in windy conditions, stained water, and open water when scouting for fish. My Pick: Strike King Red Eye Shad, technically a lipless crankbait, but just entertain me.

Floating Jerkbaits

Floating jerkbaits do exactly what they say, they float on the surface of the water when they are not being reeled in. When you are reeling in and pause, they will begin to float back to the top of the water. These are great for fishing in shallower waters, especially around downed trees, grass, and areas where fish are feeding near the top of the water column. My Pick: Rapala Husky Jerk Jerkbait, the original floating jerkbait!

How To Fish Jerkbaits

Like mentioned above, one of the most popular ways to fish jerkbaits is using a twitch and pause method, or a “jerk-jerk-jerk-pause” cadence. This causes a chaotic, injured minnow presentation in the water which drives predator fish crazy. You can also do a straight cast and retrieve which will wobble and swim the jerkbait through the water which is still a great way to cover a lot of water. This is also mimicked when you are trolling with jerkbaits. I personally like to do a combination of cast and retrieve, while mixing in some pauses and jerks. Once you identify a pattern that is working with the fish and getting bites you can hone in on that and really start to land some monsters.

Popular Colors of Jerkbaits

There are endless options when it comes to jerkbait colors, from shiny metallic colors, bright neon chartreuse, and even completely see through, there is no shortage of unique colors for every fishing situation you can find yourself in. I’ll review some really popular colors and then give you my 3 overall favorite colors.

Best Clear Water Jerkbait Colors

When it comes to clear water fishing you will want to go for a natural option since fish will have good visibility, and something really out there may be a bit too off putting for them. You should go for a Pro Blue, Transparent, or Ghost patterns, or any sort or silver or gold minnow can work really well. These natural colors will help present a real looking baitfish that is ready to be eaten.

Cloudy Water Jerkbait Colors

When water is cloudy and stained your best option is to go with something that will create high contrast in the water rather than something that will blend in. The tough water conditions make it harder for fish to see, but luckily there are plenty of bright jerkbait colors to counter this. Some of the iconic ones are clown, firetiger, chartreuse or sexy shad, and even a bone color can help stick out against the dirty water. My personal favorite is the firetiger, I have caught a LOT of fish on firetiger lures it’s bright green yellow and orange just sticks out so much in darker waters. If fish are missing your lure in these water conditions you can even find jerkbaits that have rattles, use more aggressive jerks, and even increase the size of your lure to help hookup with fish.

Alternative & Natural Jerkbait Colors

There are other awesome jerkbait colors that can help you land fish. With larger profiles it is easier to put realistic patterns on jerkbaits, there are yellow perch colors, large mouth bass colors, there are even jerkbaits that resemble trout! These are used for big predatory fish like pike, musky, and even big lake trout, in fact I actually have seen jerkbaits that are painted like northern pike to try and trigger strikes from bigger pike or musky. Some other must have colors are the Pro Blue color, Mat Shad & Ito Wkasagi to represent local baitfish.

Obscure & Fun Jerkbait Colors

When it comes to really funky color jerkbaits, they are mostly going to come from jerkbaits designed specifically for walleye. There are all natural colors for walleye jerkbaits, but when it comes to the bright pinks and chartreuse combinations for dark and stained water, walleye jerkbaits take the cake. Some of my personal favorites are:

“Wonder Bread” Jerkbait

which is a white body with pink, blue, and yellow dots on it.

“Hot Blueberry Muffin” Jerkbaits

a purple body with a neon green belly and pink dots.

“Seaweed” Jerkbait

which is a highlighter yellow body with green and orange dots.

“Traffic Light” Jerkbait

a yellow and blue clear plastic body with green, yellow, and pink dots on it looking like something from outer space.

“Slither” Jerkbait

is possibly the most insanely painted jerkbait. A bright blue top, with a body that goes from yellow to green to pink with dark blue vertical stipes and a black dot on the end, needless to say there is a lot going on.

Jerkbaits for Bass, Walleye, Pike, Musky & More

If you are fishing for bass (largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, etc), you know jerkbaits, but there are several reasons you can use jerkbaits for essentially all game fish including northern pike, musky, walleye, etc. The baitfish presentation, erratic action, lure suspension, covering water, and versatility. The fact that jerkbaits come in so many sizes, colors, and variations allows them to present just like shad, minnows, shiners, perch, and bluegill which are forage and prey for all game fish. The erratic action of jerkbaits make them elite because many predatory fish will eat or strike based on instinct or reaction. A twitching jerking baitfish that looks to be injured and an easy meal is irresistible to them, making jerkbaits deadly for aggressive pike and musky. The suspending jerkbait took the effectiveness of these lures to the next level. So many predator fish react to the lure suspending in the water differently, it give timid trout time to commit to it, a pike or musky see this as the perfect ambush time, walleye like to inspect their prey a bit longer, this gives them time for that, and bass love to crush a dying (suspending) baitfish on the pause. Overall pausing your retrieve and letting the lure sit in the water is an elite strategy when using these lures. Jerkbaits cover big bodies of water really fast. You can cast them over flats, points, weeds, rock banks, docks, and open water to search these key areas for fish. When you don’t really know what patterns are working, or what fish are around a jerkbait can check all your boxes while you dial in your strategy. Finally, the overall versatility of jerkbaits is unbeaten. They can catch almost all game fish species, can work in any water conditions, all water temps, come in tons of sizes, colors, and variations I can almost guarantee you can find a jerkbait that works for what you need.

The Best Jerkbait Brands

With so many variations, specialties, and niches there are tons of jerkbait brands on the market. I want to go over some of the best, and why I think they are some of the best. I think it is important to acknowledge history while also appreciating and respecting innovation while considering specific purpose as well. For anglers around the great lakes I am going to say Rapala, Bandit, and Megabass as the best brands for jerkbaits. Rapala gets the nod because obviously they created the monster that is jerkbait fishing. With classics like the Rapala Husky Jerk, the Rapala Original Floater, and Rapala Super Shad Rap you are covering all types of jerkbaits, oh and they have awesome jointed jerkbaits too. Their colors are classic, and they simply catch fish. Bandit gets on the list because of their local specalizations in walleye jerkbaits for great lakes fishing. Especially on Lake Erie, the walleye capital Bandit jerkbaits are a go to with all their crazy walleye colors and sizes these jerkbaits absolutely crush walleye and deserve a spot on this list. On the other side of things, Megabass get’s a spot because of how specialized their jerkbaits are for bass fishing. With multiple shapes and sizes these jerkbaits are some of the best at their twitching and darting motion which is why bass can’t resist them. The beauty is that you can use them for other species if you want! The Megabass Vision 110 is arguably one of the best jerkbaits on the market and has won plenty of tournaments because of how well it performs. I would also recommend trying out jerkbaits from Bill Lewis Outdoors and Bomber two big players in the jerkbait game as well.

Best Jerkbait Fishing Techniques

If you have ever asked, “How do I fish a jerkbait” don’t worry it is incredibly easy. The most common way to fish jerkbaits is with a twitch twitch pause technique.

1. Cast past your target
2. Jerk with the rod tip, giving a sharp downward twitch
3. Do this 2-3 times
4. PAUSE, let the jerkbait suspend in the water (this is when most bites happen)
5. Repeat, do this technique until the jerkbait is back to you, cast out and repeat

If you are on a boat you may consider trolling a jerkbait through open water, along drop offs and edges. This would be casting the lure out, slowing rolling or “trolling” the boat along where you want the jerkbait to swim, and let the boat and lure work together to cover a ton of water.

Jerkbait Fishing Recap

If you made it this far you either had a lot of research to do on jerkbaits, love using them and just wanted to bask in their glory, or just love reading my articles. Whatever the case may be I hope I was able to answer some of your questions around jerkbaits and give you some insight into why they are one of the best fishing lures ever invented. From 100s of colors, sizes, variations, fishing techniques, and target species you simply can’t go wrong with a jerkbait in almost any fishing situation. Please feel free to share this on your social media to let us know your thoughts on jerkbaits, send us pictures of your jerkbait catches so we can share them, and finally go shop for jerkbaits for sale at our online store to stock up your tackle box and get your next pb!

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