Glenn: Hey folks, Glenn May here with Bassresource.com, here with Hank Parker with another edition
of Hank Parker's Fishing Tips.
This question this week comes from CJ from western Kentucky.
And his questions are about jerk baits, he has several.
He wants to know what's your preferred line for jerk baits, what helps determine where
you start with your presentation, and what do you feel is the most important factor in
determining what color to start with?
Hank: Well, I think let's go with...let's do this in reverse order.
Let's talk about what color to start with.
I think transparency is a big deal of the jerk bait.
You know, my old philosophy when I really got started fishing jerk bait, I really liked
to fish a spinner bait in the spring of the year, but if the water got too clear I found
I could be more productive with a jerk bait.
So I was really substituting the spinner bait for a jerk bait because the clear water.
So I want transparency.
I want a bait that is not so dominant, I wanna be able to blend in and be subtle.
So I always do that.
That has paid off for me when I started, it still pays off today.
When I go out there and I've got a real green tint to the water, then I pick a green very
transparent blend in jerk bait.
I've always been successful everywhere I go with that philosophy.
So that's what I do with colors, I try to be subtle and I try to match my water as closely
as I possibly can.
Now if I have a partner, sometimes he can make me change.
But that is about the only time that I break that rule.
I'm always trying to be subtle.
Number two, the question was what type of lines.
I like fluorocarbon line for the most part.
But if I'm fishing a floating jerk bait, I want my line to float so I'll be using a monofilament
line, and I think that's really, really important.
But I always choose a jerk bait to do...to fish around the structure that I'm fishing
around.
And I'm deviating a little bit from your question here, but in picking that jerk bait, which
jerk bait I'm gonna use, which color, how deep it's gonna run, all of that kinda is
based on the structure that I'm fishing, so.
And I'll give a real quick crude illustration.
A couple months ago I was fishing on Lake Murray and those fish were up really, really
good, the water temperature was warm very, very quick, and the water was a little bit
off-color and the fish were pretty aggressive, and I was fishing a floating jerking bait
and catching 'em good.
Well, the day I go back, I take a buddy of mine and I caught 'em so good I wanted to
show off, so I took him back, and there were like 40 guys in an old folks tournament.
I mean, people 55 and older out there.
So I asked 'em how old you had to be to be in the old folks tournament, 55.
So anyway, to make a long story short, I had to go to a different section of the lake to
get away form those guys in the tournament to be courteous to them.
And I found a lot clearer water.
So I wanted to go deeper in the clearer water.
So I chose a bait that would dive deeper.
So some times, not only color makes a difference, but the depth and the way that bait dives
and how that bait performs.
If I'm fishing in really, really, really clear water, then I want a jerk bait that's got
an extremely tight wiggle, where when I jerk it, it's very, very subtle.
If I'm fishing in off-colored water, then I want a jerk bait that's got a wider wiggle,
that's more sporadic.
So it all depends on your conditions as how you choose your bait.
For me, I always try to match my water.
Glenn: CJ, that's a ton of info for you.
I really do hope that answers your question.
I'm sure it does.
But hey, but if you wanna get more tips and tricks, just visit hankparker.com...
Hank: There ya go.
Glenn: ...and go check out his website, all the information on there, there's tons of
it out there, you can spend hours on it.
Trust me, I have.
And if you wanna get notified of the next video we post, just subscribe to our channel
and you'll get a direct notification.
Thanks for watching, have a great day.