Jerk Minnow Tactics From Shallow To Deep

With the 2011 Bassmaster Classic just around the corner on the Mississippi Delta in New Orleans many are thinking that this tournament will be won with a flipping stick in hand, but there are more than a few fishermen that will be rigged with soft plastics and fishing other ways.

Looking at the situation at hand Big Bite makes one of the best soft plastic jerk minnows on the market and it will be a pretty safe bet that this bait will be a viable option for many of the fishermen that are fishing in this week’s Classic.

Let’s take a closer look too see how you rig the Jerk Minnow a few different ways and how to fish this bait along the way.

For most of the fisherman fishing the Classic they will carry the 5” and 6” Jerk Minnows in a variety of colors to match the water conditions. The most popular way to rig the Jerk Minnow is to use a 4/0 or 5/0 EWG Gamakatsu Worm hook and rig the bait weedless. 

This will give the bait a slow fall on a slack line and will allow the bait to glide in between jerks. With the un-weighted hook, I will cast the minnow out and count before I start to jerk then pause the bait on the way back to the boat. The count that I use will have to do with how aggressive the bass are and the water temperature.  If the water is cold and the bass are not that aggressive the jerk-n-pause time will be longer.  For these conditions I generally count to 5 again before I jerk the next time.  If I find the bass to be somewhat aggressive my count may only be 2 or 3.

This natural action that the bait has between jerks is when many of your strikes will come so pay close attention to your line as many times you will not even feel the bite; you will just see your line start to swim off.  When that happens set the hook.

When the bass are aggressive or in a little deeper water that is when I opt to arm myself with the weighted hook presentation. The weighted hook allows me to work the bait faster, in a more erratic way.  I fish the Jerk Minnow on a weighted EWG Gamakatsu Worm hook once again rigged weedless.  Match the hook size to the Jerk Minnow you are using.  I use a 4/0 EWG with a 5” minnow and use a 5/0 EWG hook with a 6” minnow.

On the days when the bass are active make your cast and start to walk the bait like you are walking it through the water jerk, pause, jerk with no count in between. Let the bass tell you just how fast they want the bait worked.  After a little experimenting you will soon find the combination for your day on the water.

Another presentation to try if the bass are sitting deeper in the tops of the weeds is to cast the Jerk Minnow out and let it sink a few feet generally a count to 3 and start to slowly reel the Jerk Minnow back to the boat. Do not put any action into the bait just lower the rod tip and slowly swim the Jerk Minnow back to the boat.  If you come in contact with the weeds give the bait a quick snap to break the bait free and get it on its way again.

I fish all these presentations on a 7ft medium heavy to heavy action rod, teamed with a matching baitcaster reel, spooled with 14lb to 20lb Sunline Fluorocarbon line.  This combination allows me to make long casts and still get a good solid hook set into the bass.

If the bass are really slow to react to the bait try to use a mono line instead of a fluorocarbon line.  Mono has more stretch and will not move the bait as much as fluorocarbon line will so keep this in mind when the bass are really shut off and tight lipped.

Now let’s take this Jerk Minnow presentation towards deeper water, I know many of you have fished the Jerk Minnow in shallow water, but have you fished it in deeper water maybe along a ledge when the bass are schooled up during the winter months? With this presentation you may want to use a spinning setup that is spooled with 8lb to 10lb fluorocarbon line like Sunline Shooter or you may opt to use a braided line with a fluorocarbon leader.  You make the choice I carry both spinning setups rigged and ready to go.  One factor that will help me make this choice is the wind conditions.  If it is calm I will many times opt to fish the spinning rod rigged with straight fluorocarbon line, but on days when I am fishing in windy conditions I will use the braided line setup to get that little extra feel when needed.

For this presentation I will use either a 4” or 5” Jerk Minnow. Thread the minnow on 1/8oz to 1/4oz jig (see picture) with the hook exposed. Make your cast and let the bait settle to the bottom or count down to the depth that you are trying to fish. 

This is a great presentation to use when you have bass sitting in the tree tops off of a creek channel bend in the winter.  Count the bait down to the tops of the trees and start to swim the bait back to the boat slowly.

Another quick note when the bass are busting shad around the docks do not be afraid to grab this same rig and swim the Jerk Minnow though the active bass.

I like to fish this same Jerk Minnow setup on deepwater rocks during the summer months. Make your cast and let the Jerk Minnow settle to the bottom. In small hops or on a drag retrieve fish the Jerk Minnow along the bottom back to the boat. When you feel the bass pick up the bait set the hook. This is a great presentation to turn to when the bite is tough.

One more modification that I use is if the bite is extra tough; I will rig the Jerk Minnow on a shaky head jig, make my cast and let the bait sit on the bottom. When I get my bait to what I feel are the key areas I will stop my bait and just shake it. This presentation will look like a feeding minnow on the bottom looking for food and an easy meal to the bass.

So the next time you are looking for a bait that you can fish from the shallows to deepwater do not forget about the Big Bites Jerk Minnow. Rigged on a EWG worm hook or on a jig head ask the Classic contenders and they will tell you the Big Bite Jerk Minnow will just flat out catch you bass.    

Scott Petersen