just found some on sale and bought several of them. i got american shad, ghost, rainbow trout, black/gold, rootbeer/white, perch, and misty shad.

but my questions are when are good times and locations to use these? ive never thrown jerkbaits much but im really wanting to learn.

Spring is a good time. Great buy.

For me, suspending jerkbaits in general, reguardless of brand, work best for me after ice out when the water starts getting up into the mid-high 40's temperature range  and are effective through the entire pre-spawn time frame. Every body of water is different, but on my home lake I like to throw them early on the deeper edges of large weed flats, either parallel to the deep weededge, or with the boat sitting off the edge, up on to the flat and work it back to the boat. As the water warms I go shallower and shallower, till the fish are on the bank and then I use something else. I like the water to be clear, and some wind to break up the surface a little. Never been a real big fan of throwing them on slick calm water.  Another place I like to use them is on the ends of points or over top of other deep water structure where I see a lot of fish suspending on the graph. I have drawn fish up to hit them that were suspended 20+ feet down, over 30 feet of water off the ends of point, or some other form of offshore cover.Again, in this situation, I like clear water, and some surface chop. I know a lot of guys like them year round, but for me, spring is my #1 time to use them, and I know I should really make an effort to fish them more in the fall, especially late, and in the same areas and situations I would fish them in the spring.

Spring and fall are my most productive times to use jerkbaits. Steep rock banks and points with steep drops off the sides or front are a couple of my favorite places to fish them. 

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/108594-jerkbait-help-advice/