The jerkbait minnow, even if we consider here only the biggest models between 10 and 13 cm mainly targeting pike in freshwater, is intended by its line and its behavior to be a lure rather imitative, even if it is possible to bring nuances to this, especially when animating it by alternating violent jerks particularly inciting and long pauses. Let's see what kind of animations it is possible to give to a jerkbait minnow.
The jerkbait minnow is a particularly versatile type of lure, all the more versatile if it is suspending, that is to say, if it remains motionless in suspension in the water during the pauses that punctuate a retrieve.
Indeed, apart from the swimming depth which will be determined by the size and orientation of the bib and on which it will not be possible to play otherwise than by passing from a jerkbait minnow to a longbill minnow for example to go to solicit the fish more deeply, many other parameters allowing to vary the attitude of a jerkbait minnow during the recovery can be adjusted.
The throw-ramener
The most basic animation, the simplest while being effective in certain situations, remains the pure linear in cast and drag. It will be a question of recovering the lure in a continuous way and at the speed which one wishes. This animation allows, in a relevant way, to use the jerkbait minnow, that it is floating, suspending or sinking, in the manner of a crankbait for a fast prospecting in Powerfishing. This is also the kind of animation that will be productive at the beginning of the season when the fish are back in the water column and have resumed a regular feeding activity after the spawning. On suspending jerkbait minnows, you can easily arrange pauses of varying length on this type of animation, intersperse acceleration phases, etc. Even if it is effective, to limit yourself to this type of linear animation would be to miss the point of the jerkbait minnow.
Jerking
Here we enter the heart of the matter. A jerkbait minnow, as its name indicates, has been developed to be jerked, that is to say, to be animated by means of large and dry jerks that make the lure suddenly move erratically from right to left and from bottom to top. Note that no matter how hard you jerk the lure, it can be animated almost on the spot. If you only use your reel to retrieve the excess streamer between each jerk and not to impart retrieve speed to the lure, then you'll be able to make it travel only a few dozen inches between each jerk, offering the possibility of being both aggressive and slow fishing. An animation pattern that I use very often in cold waters and when you need to insist on a potential strike zone. Furthermore, it shows that jerkbaits don't need much space to express themselves and can be used in the vast majority of biotopes, from small rivers to lakes.
Twitching
Twitching is based on the same principle of animation, with the difference that the movements of the scions will be less dry and less ample. In the same way, you can print twitchs and jerks continuously during the retrieve or break the monotony by interspersing breaks. Here again, the suspending models stand out by allowing the angler to precisely control the duration of the break.
The advantages of the suspending models
As you can see, the jerkbait minnows suspending will allow you to play very easily on the retrieve speed in the sense that, thanks to this characteristic, it will be possible to arrange very long pauses if you wish, and thus to fish very slowly. An essential asset when it comes to fishing for apathetic fish. A simple rule to keep in mind when fishing for pike with a jerkbait minnow is that the colder the water, the longer the breaks should be (we'll come back to this in the next article on seasonality).
Animation and guidance of the cane
The jerking and twitching animation is done most of the time with the rod down and the tip facing the surface. It is nevertheless possible, and this is another advantage of jerkbait minnows, to make your lure evolve in little water (50 cm) as long as you animate it with the rod up.
Conclusion
This wide range of animations associated with the suspending character of the majority of jerkbait minnows will allow the fisherman to adapt his fishing throughout the year, whatever the season. This is precisely the subject of the following article.
