Mike McClelland is well-known as THE authority on jerkbait fishing. And know he reveals his tips for fishing them from the bank!

 

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Spro_Mike_McClelland_McStick_110/descpage-SMCS.html

Casting jerkbait from the bank?? Very brave…….. I only try that below dams where I know the current will keep it out of the rocks 

I've caught some from the bank with a jerkbait. I have also donated some to the rocks too.

So what's the theory behind the incredibly slow reel for fishing jerkbaits?  Not a technique I use but figured you'd want something fast?

Good video. Jerkbaits account for some of the larger bank bass I catch every single year, including a couple specific pond PBs. For me, it's best right after ice-out for the first month or so of open water before water temps warm too much. It's a fairly retrieve ratio insensitive technique, though I am usually using them on faster ratio reels (6:1 or 7:1).

14 minutes ago, ajschn06 said:

So what's the theory behind the incredibly slow reel for fishing jerkbaits?  Not a technique I use but figured you'd want something fast?

I’m not sure what the general consensus would be for wanting a very slow reel for jerkbaiting. I personally like a slower reel to prevent ripping a thin wire treble out of a fish’s mouth, especially when they nip/swipe and barely get one rear hook point in them. Some prefer a faster gear ratio to pick up potential slack for specific scenarios. IMO, someone’s gear ratio preference for jerkbaiting is specific to the situation and how you want to play the fish after hookup in that specific situation.

Jerkbaits have been awesome to me from the bank and float tube, if you are careful you won’t loose many. I’ve started fishing the h2o ultimate jerkshads in more snaggy areas because they are so cheap and loosing a lucky craft hurts big time. I will fish a jerkbait all day even if I don’t get any bites because I know that if I do get bit there is a real chance it’s gonna be a good one.

Jerkbaits are one of my favorite bank fishing baits in the winter months. I stick to the lower end baits in case I lose them, but I don't seem to lose them often. 

2 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Jerkbaits are one of my favorite bank fishing baits in the winter months. I stick to the lower end baits in case I lose them, but I don't seem to lose them often. 

 

Broke off one of those H2O Xpress jerk shads two days after I bought it. Hopefully it makes its way back to the bank since it's not sinking. Thank goodness I only had ~9 bucks into it. Stinks since the backup one I purchased is a slow riser instead of suspending.

 

Now that I'm really putting in the work to get better with the technique, it's fast becoming a favorite for bank fishing. The eats are super addicting like with crankbait fishing.

On 1/25/2022 at 10:09 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

Jerkbaits are one of my favorite bank fishing baits in the winter months. I stick to the lower end baits in case I lose them, but I don't seem to lose them often. 

Floaters?

10 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Floaters?

Suspending or very slow floating.  

On 1/25/2022 at 11:49 AM, Aaron_H said:

 

Broke off one of those H2O Xpress jerk shads two days after I bought it. Hopefully it makes its way back to the bank since it's not sinking. Thank goodness I only had ~9 bucks into it. Stinks since the backup one I purchased is a slow riser instead of suspending.

 

Now that I'm really putting in the work to get better with the technique, it's fast becoming a favorite for bank fishing. The eats are super addicting like with crankbait fishing.

For 9 bucks you could have bought a Yozuri 3DB Jerkbait and I would put it against any Lucky Craft Pointer or Megabass Vision OneTen. The colors need work, but the action is fantastic! 

6 minutes ago, lunkerboss923 said:

For 9 bucks you could have bought a Yozuri 3DB Jerkbait and I would put it against any Lucky Craft Pointer or Megabass Vision OneTen. The colors need work, but the action is fantastic! 

That’s great to know, almost bought one at academy the other day and I definitely will the next time I’m there. Got a 4.11 yesterday on a silent pointer 95 from the bank 

10 minutes ago, BlakeMolone said:

That’s great to know, almost bought one at academy the other day and I definitely will the next time I’m there. Got a 4.11 yesterday on a silent pointer 95 from the bank 

Nice fish! Look for the Table Rock Shad pattern. Purple back with Fluorescent yellow belly. This is hard to beat! I will warn you that the colors run a bit translucent. You can see the beads in the lure. I was a little thrown off by it, but I quickly lost apprehension when a pig pulled my line tight and took off in the opposite direction. I'm a bank fisherman too, what cadence were you using?  Jerk jerk pause or explain how you caught it. I'm not very successful jerkbait fishing and I want to get better! 

Just use heavier line from the bank to keep them from diving as far. Works for me.

1 hour ago, lunkerboss923 said:

For 9 bucks you could have bought a Yozuri 3DB Jerkbait and I would put it against any Lucky Craft Pointer or Megabass Vision OneTen. The colors need work, but the action is fantastic! 

 

Good looking lure and I like Yo-Zuri, but it comes with round bends so I'd still end up swapping them out. Wouldn't be a $9 bait for long. Caught a couple of really nice bass so far on the H2O so I'm gonna keep fishing it and see what it can do.

1 hour ago, ironbjorn said:

Just use heavier line from the bank to keep them from diving as far. Works for me.

So 12 or 15 pound monofilament? I use 10lb currently. 

2 hours ago, lunkerboss923 said:

Nice fish! Look for the Table Rock Shad pattern. Purple back with Fluorescent yellow belly. This is hard to beat! I will warn you that the colors run a bit translucent. You can see the beads in the lure. I was a little thrown off by it, but I quickly lost apprehension when a pig pulled my line tight and took off in the opposite direction. I'm a bank fisherman too, what cadence were you using?  Jerk jerk pause or explain how you caught it. I'm not very successful jerkbait fishing and I want to get better! 

 

I'm right there with you, man. Jerkbait fishing is still pretty new to me but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I'm also a bank angler for the most part. My retrieve varies from fast to slow, but I always start out a little faster with it and slow down if necessary. Down south here we don't get true cold water so I've found they want something a little less dead stick-y. Usually two-three twitches with a 1-2 second pause between sets (so twitch-twitch pause twitch-twitch-twitch pause twitch pause). If nothing then I slow down, give it a couple more seconds, hit it with a single twitch, etc. I've had most of my luck with slow risers, which is also nice for keeping them from getting hung, if I hit something I can just pause it and let it rise up over it and keep on going. Still a learning curve for me but I've managed a handful of nice ones this year doing this.

 

12 minutes ago, lunkerboss923 said:

So 12 or 15 pound monofilament? I use 10lb currently. 

 

I'm throwing them on 30lb braid to a 4-6ft 15lb mono leader. I was using 12lb but found I was retying too often. I haven't noticed any significant loss of action from upping the leader diameter.

26 minutes ago, lunkerboss923 said:

So 12 or 15 pound monofilament? I use 10lb currently. 

I use 12 lb Big Game or Yo-Zuri Hybrid on the banks for everything.