Primus

One factor to consider when fishing jerbaits is line selection. There are times when you want the bait to get a little deeper(esp. early spring when they are on deeper flats and the water is colder) that Florocarbon line because it sinks will get you the extra depth. I will fish slower at this time sometimes pausing up 30 seconds or more between sweeps. As we get into mid to late spring and as the majority of fish move shallower I like to use mono because of the increased weed growth I want my baits to run a little shallower and because of the increased metabolism the fish move a greater distance to take your bait. At this time I will speed up my cadence, I normally will fish 3 rips/brief pause/2 rips but will expieriment as neeeded. I generally rip the bait by twitching the slack (sort of like an underwater Zara spook but even more aggresive). I generally put away my jerks for the summer and will use them sporadically in the fall. With that being said if you want a bait such as the X rap to have a real exaggerated action which might be good for summer try fishing it with braid using a florocarbon leader. Though jerks can be effective at times during the summer (esp. for smallmouth) I usually exchange the 2 stuffed plano boxes of jerks for more deep water cranks & topwaters.

RC 1.5 is a must have.

If you fish lakes that have clear water, the Flatt Shad is a great addition. At times I do well with rattling or knocker style lipless cranks, but there are times when the noise spooks them. The great thing about the Flat Shads is that they are transluescent and don't rattle definetly a plus when a more subtle approach is needed. I also have the Magic Swimmers but I've done better with this bait so far.

As Willzx225 mentioned BPS usually have these on sale a couple of times a year for 9.99$, don't overlook the 0.5 in the Ghost color. This one has bailed me out several times when I've been faced with light wind, clear skies and clear water by ripping it through shallow weeds, even though it's a square bill it rips through weeds surprisingly well. I also caught a few yesterday on the 1.5 size DD with the surface temp 46 degrees at the lake I was at, these series of cranks are fantastic throughout the year! As you can tell I'm a huge fan and I just read in BASS Times that they are now coming out a "knocker" version of this bait. The " bait monkey" is begging me to pick up several more when they are on sale.

Another great crank from Lucky Craft would be the RC series in the 1.5 size.

Another one you might try is the Jackall Muscle Deep 15 Plus size, cast like a rocket,has a small profile, runs a similiar depth as a Norman DD 22 but is a lot easier to crank. It was my most productive deep crank this year, especially the Chartruese Shad color.

This bait is far from junk, I've used this a lot and it definetly produces. You are right, it's not a true wake bait but I view as a shallow running swimbait. If you give it enough time on the water and like any bait use it in the right situations I think you'll be happy with it.

I will add big round shallow to mid depth cranks that put a lot of vibration in warmer water and lipless trap type for cooler water.

Like Raul I bought one and have thrown it a little to see what it looked like, since I just got it a couple of weeks ago I haven't fished it hard as I project this to be a good stained water bait to use in the summer. I've been a huge fan of the Excalibur Wake Crank and this seems like an oversized version of that type of bait or this bait might be thought as LC's answer to the Dep's Buzzjet. Since we're in the fall season in Michigan and in 6-8 weeks I'll probably be looking at ice I have a feeling it won't see any action till next summer.

I throw a mix of jerkbaits from Rapala, Lucky Craft, Yozuri, Jackall etc. and they all seem to have their time as the hot jerbait. Two that haven't been mentioned but are very productive baits are the LC Flash Minnow (runs a little shallower than the Pointer which is some times a plus when the weeds are closer to the surface) and I've been very impressed with the one Ima Flit that I bought in the Ghost color (I definetly plan on picking up a few more this winter).

I have done well with Flatt Shadd's, what I like about them is that they are transluscent and don't rattle, a great alternative to try when you have clear water and the fish seem spooked by the rattling type of lipless baits.

I've done well this fall with the Yozuri, Strike King and my wildcard has been the Sebile Flat Shad which is silent and does well in clear water lakes and when the fish are spooked out by the rattles.

When crankbait fishing on those type of lakes try small cranks & jerkbaits in transluescent colors, one that produces well for me is the Lucky Craft RC 0.5 size in the Ghost color. I've also done well on small jigs like the Booyah Baby Boo or a 4" Yamamoto Spider Grub on Bite Me Jacobs Jig. In the summer if I can't bit and the water is flat I'll try a 3" yum dinger on a small shank hook 1/16 oz. Gopher tackle mushroom head it will always get me a few bites. Also, a dropshot with a small reaper is going to be good for a few bites shallow or deep.

I have a couple of these and they are an outstanding walking bait and in my topwater arsenal they are a great complement to the Spook's & Sammy's that I already own. It's an easy bait to walk and it has a unique sound, I throw it when I want a noisier walkin' bait than the other the other choices that I have. I also like the Jackall Bonnie which seems to roll a little bit more.

I definetely prefer Tungsten for many of the reasons already cited, however you can still catch plenty of fish with lead sinkers. I look at Tungten sinkers, premium hooks and florocarbon line as potential difference makers that will pick you up a few extra bites during the season, nevertheless these can be pricey upgrades and I've seen many folks catch their share with more budget oriented options. In conclusion if Tungsten won't break the budget it's worth having, but it's not a neccesity unless you're fishing in certain tournaments when their is a lot of money on the line.

App. 12-15 combo's on my my main boat. When fishing out of my small boat or when I'm on a buddy's boat app. 5-6 combo's.

Hey, ohiobassmaster caught 3 of my keepers last night on the cover craw in tough conditions (a major cold front, also picked up a few on a Basstrix, baby 1 minus and a spinnerbait when the wind picked up). The best way to fish it seems to be weightless in calm water or when their is a light breeze. It has about the same fall rate as Yum Dinger but not as fast as a Senko with a nice gliding action. The negative on this bait is that they are very fragile, I would reccomend picking up a few bags (Tackle Whse now has them in stock). If you decide to try it please share your observations.

For Straight tail worms I like the Roboworm & Reaction Innovations. This winter I might try ordering some hand pours to try for next season, if anyone has any recommendations I would sure appreciate it. One that has done well for me at times is the Zoom Shakey tail, it has a thin Ribbon tail for a little added action on the way down.

I've been using the Vixen for app 3 years and it's nice complement to the Spook & Sammy. The original Spook is a quiet bait and at times this is going to deliver more strikes. The Sammy having a cupped faced which makes a nice little popping noise as you walk it along with a more gliding action to it. The Vixen excels when your trying to call them out from deep water or heavy grass, this one when they are hitting it gets the most savage strikes. I view all 3 as important tools in my topwater collection, but if I had to pick one I would go with the Vixen.

I've done well with a spinnerbait especially if the wind is blowing.

I am a true junk fisherman and may have up to 15 rods rigged and ready to go when I show up at a lake and I'll try different depths & presentations until the fish tell me what they're looking for. Of course each day I have a few educated guesses based on type of lake, weather patterns and time of year. With all that being said I catch more fish on various soft plastics rigged in all sorts of ways (Carolina, Texas, weightless, split shot, drop shot etc.) than other bait types though I tend to catch bigger fish on cranks & jigs. If had to pick one lure I would go with a texas rigged worm in the summer, jerkbaits late spring, cranks early fall and jigs early spring and late fall.

Lots of good selections already listed, one I would not do without is the Mann's Baby 1 Minus, as it's name implies it runs 1 foot or less depending on you hold the rod tip.

Good question, I plan on expierimenting with different ways to rig this bait which may include using small tungsten nail weights. I may try some keel weighted hooks as well. I'll be sure to follow-up with my impressions after I use it more.

I got some last week through Ichiban Tackle, looks good in the water but haven't caught any yet with the limited cast that I have made. Rig it with the line going in through the front it does a slow backwards glide.

Try the River To Sea V joint wake minnow in Chartreuse Shad, I've been real pleased and it only runs $ 7.99