Modern minnow shaped lures are called stickbaits, slashbaits, jerkbaits, or often by the name of a popular brand or model such as Rapala or Rogue. I'll call them all jerkbaits whether they're floating, suspending, or sinking just to make it simple. The first popular lure of this kind was the original Rapala Minnow. It was such a success it made Rapala a world wide brand. Now available in many different sizes and colors and even jointed models, it remains a popular and effective lure. Success like that is bound to be copied, so today there are many different brands that make a similar lure, but it took the ingenuity of an Ozarks fisherman to take it to the next level. Somewhere in the late 60's or early 70's, someone doctored up a Rapala with added lead weight where it would suspend in the water, neutrally buoyant, where it wouldn't sink or float back up. Looking like a stunned, dying, or just not paying attention baitfish, these lures are dynamite on cold weather Bass in our clear Ozark reservoirs. There are now dozens of these suspending lures by different manufacturers, no tinkering required. Well, a tiny bit of tinkering, but we'll get to that in a minute, let's move on to some tips and tactics for using these lures for all three Bass species in our Ozark Reservoirs.My favorite time to fish for Bass at Table Rock is from right after the Holidays (early January) through prespawn (mid April), and the main reason is the suspending jerkbait bite. I love the fishing style, and the solitude- the fact that you may catch the biggest bass of the year while everyone else hasn't even thought of getting their boat out of winter storage. One more thing, bass may or may not "school up" in winter, but groups of them are often attracted to the same type of structure or cover in winter, giving you the chance of scoring multiple fish when you locate them. There are experienced fishermen who don't believe how good it can be, or they‘re just put off by the cold. Either way, you often have the lake to yourself.
The very beginning of this period typically has the coldest water temperatures of the year. There may even be ice in some of the coves protected from the wind. Bass may only feed sporadically during this time, if at all. What you are waiting for is a warming trend. It doesn't have to be more than several days of warm and sunny weather to warm the water by a few degrees. It may not seem like much, but a rise in the water temperature of only a couple of degrees is enough to spur some feeding activity. It doesn't have to be sunny, I've had great success when a low pressure system has stalled out and made it cloudy for several days in a row, keeping the night time temperatures mild, rather than the crisp clear nights with temperatures below freezing. A warm rain can get the fish going if it doesn't muddy the water up too much, but that's usually more of a factor close to the spawn, any precipitation we receive in January or February tends to be the frozen kind! When the water is in the low 40's feeding activity can be hard to predict, but as it increases toward 50-degrees you can bet after 2 or 3 days of a warming trend fish will suspend near cover, and hit a properly presented jerkbait. By properly presented, I mean it has to suspend perfectly. It can't float up or sink even slightly, it has to suspend like it has it's own perfectly tuned swim bladder. Thankfully lure manufacturers have many different models that suspend pretty well right out of the box. Rapala XRaps tend to float up in the very coldest water, which is fine, because you can add weight to most lures to get them to work perfectly. The more "Boutique" lures like Lucky Craft Pointers suspend almost perfectly, but even older mainstays like the Rapala Husky Jerk and Smithwick Suspending Rogue can easily be "tuned" by adding weight.. The two easiest methods of adding weight are Storm stick-on Suspen-Dots and Suspen-Strips, and lead flytying wire or rolled 50/50 solder. Some fisherman swap hooks out with bigger, heavier sizes. Screwing around with split ring pliers and spare hooks in the cold isn't much fun, you can adjust weight with lead much easier and get it exactly right in far less time.
You'll have to try the lure at boat side to see how it suspends. Cast it out 15 feet or so and reel it in just close enough where you can clearly see it, then watch as long as you can stand it. Needless to say, polarized sunglasses are a must. A lure that floats up very slightly isn't too hard to see, but ones that barely sink are subtle and hard to spot without staring at them for what seems like an eternity out there in the gray winter cold. Luckily, this time of year there aren't to many folks around to see you blankly casting a lure a few feet from the boat and peering at it for a long time. If a lure sinks pretty quickly in 40-degree water, I take it back. You can always add weight to lures that float up, but I haven't had much success with ones that sink quickly in cold water. In very warm water most suspenders sink slightly which is fine because you tend to work them faster in warm water, but that's a subject we'll get to later.
Now, how to add the right amount of weight? Using either stick on weights or lead wire winds up being a trail and error affair. Lead wire is the easiest, I usually try a piece about 2-inches long stuck through the front hook hanger and twisted once, cast it out, and remove lead as needed until it suspends perfectly. After you're satisfied it's right, wrap the lead around the hook shank. You can use a dab of superglue to help hold it in place. Stick on lead is a little more tricky, dry the part of the lure right behind the bill before you stick the weight on, and either stick more on, or use a knife to cut small pieces off as needed to get it right. Again, after you get it right, a dab of superglue along the edges will hold it in place a little better.With all three Black Bass species in most of our lakes, there are many different places to try these lures in late Winter. Rockslides on bluffs, bluff ends, deeper rip-rap banks, floating docks over deep water, basically more vertical structure with some kind of cover. Deep banks that "stair step" with ledges in smaller creeks just off the main lake can be good, especially if they face South and are protected from North winds, have floating docks, or both. Large isolated cedar trees, especially on steeper banks are another good place. These lures don't run very deep, but properly presented have the ability to draw Bass up from the depths. One day last March three Spotted Bass came straight up from deeper water and attack my lure vertically, drawn out of their cedar tree in 40-foot of water. Just don't get locked into thinking all Bass are deep during Winter. I've caught fish in less than 15-feet of water in January and February on chunk rock and pea gravel flats near main lake points. To fish a specific piece of cover (tree, boat dock, large boulder) cast beyond it and work the lure with downward jerks of the rod tip until it gets close, then stop it. Let it sit. Keep your line almost tight, but try not to move it. Maybe add a small twitch after 30 seconds. Experiment with how long you wait between twitches, the rule of thumb being colder water equals longer time between twitches. Sometimes fish will move long distances to hit a lure, and others you have to almost snag in in a tree. I experiment with how far away from cover I let it sit, trying to get a pattern nailed down. After I've let it sit in a spot and twitched it a few times, I work it along for another 20- or 30- feet and before stopping it again. You'll read of people casting a lure out, then lighting up a cigarette and smoking it before moving the lure again. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea. For covering water, experiment with how far between pauses you stop. You can cover an area faster than you'd think with a jerkbait, even with long pauses.
Sometimes strikes are the " rip the rod out your hand" types, but most are little more subtle. Sometimes a fish will mouth a bait and swim at you, your only clue the line going totally slack. If the wind is calm, the water is usually so clear that you can watch your bait as it gets closer to the boat. There's been days where I never feel them hit, but I do see the lure disappear, or a small flash of a fish turning as it takes a swipe at it. I've tried attractant sprays from time to time thinking maybe the fish will hang on longer, but I'm not sure if it makes a difference. You do need sensitivity to feel what’s going on down there when you can't see your lure, so you need low stretch line. I've used fluorocarbon, but nothing beats superlines like FireLine or PowerPro for sensitivity. For most of my jerkbaits I use a 7-foot medium power/fast action spinning rod paired with a spinning reel spooled with 4/10 FireLine. I use a 10-pound test fluorocarbon leader about 8- to 10 foot long tied to the superline with a blood knot. I remove the split rings on my lures and use a snap tied to the end of the fluorocarbon leader to attach the lures, both for easy lure changes and better action. Some guys use shorter rods, or baitcasting gear. To be honest, whatever you are comfortable with will probably work. I like the ease of fishing spinning gear when I have gloves on, and a with my long arms a 7' rod works great for me from the deck of even a low profile boat. A spinning combo puts the weight of the reel under the rod, just hanging there, the tendinitis in my rod arm more manageable with that instead of palming a baitcaster all day, and is easier to use with gloves on, too. A longer rod also helps rocket casts far from the boat, which can help get more strikes in the crystal clear waters of the White River chain of lakes.
It's said the original suspending bait was either A Rebel Spoonbill, a Rapala, or a Smithwick Rogue, depending on who you talk to. I've tried to pin that down for a couple of years and got really nothing to show for it. Does it really matter? There are so many great suspending lures these days, it's almost hard to choose. Starting with the more expensive models, Lucky Craft Pointers are considered top of the heap by many, I just can't justify the price to buy very many of them. One I have used the past couple of years is the XCaliber XS4. It looks kind of like a Smithwick Rogue, but has a weight transfer system that helps casting in the wind, fantastic hooks, and great colors. The Diawa TD Minnow is a little pricey, but perfect when you want a shallow running suspender. Rapala has two great suspending lures. One of the first factory made suspenders, the Husky Jerk, is a classic. It comes in tiny Trout/Panfish sizes, and all the way up to models for Pike/Musky. The #10 size is still a favorite jerkbait for Smallmouths and Spotted Bass when they're little finicky. The other Rapala model, the XRap, has become a huge success for the company. Meant to compete against the higher dollar Japanese baits, it's really well made, but affordable. Last time I bought one it was less than 7.00$. Now available in several sizes, shallow and deep diving, and lots of good colors, you can't go wrong. The Smithwick Suspending Rattlin’ Rogue is one of my most used jerkbaits. It's inexpensive, it comes in some good colors, and it just works. Any time I want to stick a lure right in submerged tree, it gets the call. That might also be why I catch so many good fish on it, I'm not afraid to lose one. Maybe because of the price point these lures sometimes require more tinkering to get them right, but for less than 5 bucks a pop, who do you want?
For colors on these lures I've experimented with lots of different things, but I like a general rule of bright day (sunny) I use bright lures. One pattern that works for me is blue back/silver sides/orange belly. The XS4, Rogue, and Husky Jerk are all available in this color. The XRap isn't, but you can color the belly of the blue pattern model with an orange Sharpie like I do. One color that Rapala just started offering for the XRap is "Purpledescent", and it's a fantastic color for the clearest water. One color that's popular is purple back/chartreuse sides. I've colored some Rogues like this, and some days they really worked, others not so much."Clown" is another bright pattern lot's of folks like, and I like it too.
On cloudy days, I like a more natural, translucent color. Of course, this isn't written in stone. I know someone who uses bright chartreuse almost exclusively and really nails them, but I can't seem to get them to hit that color except when the water is cloudy, so go figure. Don't be afraid to use some Sharpies or highlighter pens, you never know if you'll find the right custom color that really works.
As the water gets into the 50-degree range and rising, fish start responding to a little more "jerk" in the jerkbait. I like to start out working the lure just a little faster than I think will work, just to see if the fish are "turned on". You can always slow it down of deadstick it beside cover if you aren't getting any reaction from a faster retrieve. A lure that sinks slightly here is not a bad thing if you are working the lure faster, it can even help you get a little deeper retrieve, sinking on the pause between jerks. All through the pre-spawn different retrieves and pauses should be experimented with, you just never know how the fish will react on any given day, and don't think that the fish will always hit a jerkbait during early prespawn, I've had several slow days that I turned around by using a shaky head or grub near or on the bottom. If you're fishing with a buddy, I can't think of a better way to locate active fish early in the year than have one person throw a jerkbait and the other follow up with a grub swam near bottom, covering most of the water column.
As it gets closer to the spawn, just because the water is above a certain temperature or it's after a certain date, don't think it about putting the jerkbait down until you try it. I fished a tournament on April 1st a couple of years ago, and I got a funny look from my partner when I started throwing a Rogue. After I started catching fish on it, he commented that "I didn't think those worked unless it was winter." It was the only thing I could get them to hit in practice, and it was the only thing that worked that day. Even though the water temp was near 60-degrees, the fish wanted that bait to sit there motionless for 30-seconds or more, move it faster and they wouldn't touch it.
I don't pester spawning fish, so I can't tell you if jerkbaits will catch bedding fish, but I do know that when they are done and move out from their spawning areas and scatter, one of the best lures to fish is still a jerkbait. Through summer and into fall anytime you can't get a topwater bit going try the jerkbait. There are good floating models that have a little more action, but suspenders work great for our deeper lakes. I have several spots on Beaver Lake I hit early in the morning for a topwater bite, and some days that bite can be stretched out a little further into the morning by trying a jerkbait in the same places. Some days the fish just won't come up to hit topwaters, and the jerkbait is the answer there, too. Just experiment with the cadence of the jerk-jerk-pause.
I find myself turning to a suspending bait in the middle of summer to fish a key spot I just know has a fish on it. I use the same method as the one for cold water fishing, deadsticking it beside the cover for as long as I can stand it. There are prominent spots that get hit hard that I still manage to pluck a fish from doing this. (think Kimberling City Bridge) Sometimes wave action from all the summer boat traffic makes keeping contact with your lure impossible, and a slip-float rig with a realistic PowerBait or Gulp lure is the answer for suspended fish, but that's different topic.
You can see jerkbaits don't get left at home, they're always on my boat. Maybe during Summer and Fall I use them less at Table Rock or Beaver, but that will bring us to part 2 of this series: Jerkbaits for river Bass. My favorite time for river Smallmouth is Summer/Fall, and the fish like an aggressive, power fishing technique like ripping a jerkbait.
