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Horizontal spots
- The grassy plateaus
The so-called "horizontal" spots are those resembling plateaus, grassy areas, or even uniform bank lines. In these configurations it is necessary to cover as much ground as possible to find the best areas, using a power fishing lure.
Once a grouping of fish has been located, there is often the possibility of catching a few extra bass by using another technique, such as jerk. But the jerkbait can be a good alternative to a chatterbait or spinnerbait, especially on calm and sunny days, when the bass are reluctant to overly aggressive presentations. With a more "natural" presentation and the possibility to fish quickly, a jerk is therefore very suitable.
However, the cover must not be too dense or close to the surface to use a jerkbait. But for example, a grassy plateau with 1m50 to 3m of water can often be fished correctly.
- spots with no grass beds
In spots without grass beds, it is more important to look at the substratum (muddy, sandy, rocky, etc.) as well as the depth and exposure to the wind. There is no miracle recipe, but it is necessary to try different configurations to find out which zones retain fish on a given day.
- uniform spotlights
On the most uniform, flat spots, without caches, the most subtle change in bathymetry, substrate, can "fix" fish. Then, obviously, forage fish gatherings are always excellent places to fish for jerkbait, all the more so if the black-bass are focused on baitfish.
Vertical spots
- steep banks
Vertical spots, such as docks, cliffs, and other steep banks are very interesting areas to prospect at the jerkbait minnow. Blackbasses are suspended in the water column and use these walls to push their prey, which find themselves squeezed between the edge and a carnivore determined to make its meal. This hunting technique is also very common with the perch, which does not refuse a small jerkbait either! On these spots, whether from the shore, in float-tube or in a boat, the long throws parallel to the bank are the most rewarding and allow to cover a lot of ground.
- dead trees
Areas of drowned dead trees, especially if they are still standing, are clearly areas appreciated by bass. As a resting but sometimes hunting area, the fish use the cover as a shelter and adjust their placement in the water column to find the best conditions. They will therefore be suspended more or less deep, depending on the water temperature, turbidity and luminosity. When they are placed in the first 4/5 meters it is possible to target them with a jerkbait by fishing around and above the trees.
- pelagic fish and line of sight
Jerkbaits are also great tools for deciding on bass hanging in the middle of nothing, which adopt a pelagic behaviour, looking for shoals of forage fish. They are easiest to catch during the hunt, but with a bit of persistence it is possible to piss off a whole shoal of bass suspended above 30m of water. This generally takes place when the water is clear or even crystalline, which will lead us to talk about a phenomenon that we could call " " the line of sight ».
This boundary between the visible and invisible, influenced by turbidity and luminosity, is widely used by predators. They will often move below this limit, making them invisible from the surface and the upper water layers. They can use this "cover" as an ambush point, taking advantage of the light from the surface to see what is passing over them. A fish (or a minnow!) moving above them will often be detected and be a potential prey item.
Specific spots
The jerkbaits will be a good option to fish certain marked spots such as pontoons or boats, bridge piers but also tree heads or isolated bushes. Again, bass will often be suspended in the water column thanks to the cover provided by such structures.
Here the main advantage of the minnow lies in its ability to mark breaks in the "strike zone". It is possible to leave your lure stationary in the part of the post that is considered most interesting, which will not fail to annoy a predator there.
And finally, last but not least The spikes, angles and offsets in the bank are popular spots for black bass. It will also be necessary to take into account this line of sight during his throws. Indeed, even close to the edge and especially when there are few obstacles, the bass will be positioned more or less deep (and more or less far from the edge) according to this line of sight. Most of the time in clear water, I focus my throws to pass in this axis where the bottom of the water is no longer visible. Thus my lure spends a maximum of time in this famous strike zone .
In conclusion
So jerkbaits are very versatile and can be used judiciously in many contexts. This article will perhaps allow you to transpose this to the waterfront, taking into account the specificities of your spot. It would be ambitious and pretentious to make a complete inventory of the areas to be fished with this technique as the configurations are so numerous. But after all, this is what makes the beauty of this hobby, to find solutions, patterns, while each environment and each day of fishing is different.
