I've got basically no experience with a jerkbait.  I think I understand pretty well how to fish them, but where? When?  Do you have to know there are suspended bass around?  They don't strike me as good lures to pull through cover.

Pretty much the only time I don’t have a jerkbait rod in the boat is when the lake is froze over and the boat is hibernating. I’ve caught everything on them, from big lake trout right as the ice goes in spring, to big bass and pike right up until it freezes over in fall. On some lakes, they are my number one bait to start with, even in the heat of summer.  There’s no wrong time or place to throw it, with the exception of super thick weeds ( and frozen lakes, can’t forget that ?).

Fish don’t need to be suspending at all, I’ve caught them over hundreds of feet of water, but also in 12” of water around docks and weed edges. Just go ahead and give them a try, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what you find. 

Throw a jerk bait anytime. Along grass lines. Just not in heavy vegetation where  it can get hung up.

Anywhere where the fish aren't 20' deep or hiding in the weeds. You can fish it over weeds, along weeds, in 10-12 feet of water where you work it above them and see if they'll bite, or in 3' of water alike. They're thought of as cold weather lures often, but they work year round.

If you start to notice bass are following your lures but not committing, throw the jerk bait.  I've found that generally it's enough that they start going after it.  One of my favorite lures and it manages to get the more aggressive bass to come out.

Clear or pretty clear water.   I tend to forget about them come summer but bait fish die all year round, jerkbaits work all year round. 

 

A better question is when not to throw one

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

A better question is when not to throw one

 

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1 hour ago, Dwight Hottle said:

 

X2

X3

As others have already stated, I think the primary assumption is that they are a cold water lure when water clarity is at least pretty good.  I use mine most in the spring time when I'm targeting brown bass in clear water.  Two years ago busted one out on a murkier largemouth lake in July and on the second cast hooked into a pretty good fish.  I was surprised.  They can work all year round but having treble hooks I would not toss one around anything it could get hung up on.

I caught a couple bass last week on them here on Tonka.  Different retrieve than early spring but what a blast when they hit them.

Ice-out to ice-in - jerks work all season here, but as @Deephavensays - you gotta change your retrieve style.

How far will bass often rise to hit a jerkbait? I have a weird aversion to my X-raps and Pointer because they only dive to like 4 feet and for some reason I assume a fat and lazy bass hanging around in 12-15 foot of water won't be interested in hitting it because it's too close to the surface. 

I like to use them when bass are eating other fish. 

On 7/23/2021 at 11:19 PM, RealtreeByGod said:

How far will bass often rise to hit a jerkbait? I have a weird aversion to my X-raps and Pointer because they only dive to like 4 feet and for some reason I assume a fat and lazy bass hanging around in 12-15 foot of water won't be interested in hitting it because it's too close to the surface. 

Do you never use top water then?

 

You also don't have to use them in deeper water.