In the mid 1990’s the Japanese jerkbait craze hit the United States
bass fishing market. Japanese based companies like Lucky Craft, Megabass
and Yo-Zuri began crafting minnow-type jerkbaits that were so realistic
looking, I wanted to put them in an aquarium to keep them alive.
In addition to the detailed 3D holographic finishes, these jerkbaits
from oversees featured “weight transfer systems,” which helped the lures
cast farther and suspend in the water column, almost like an injured
baitfish that freezes in fear.
My favorite places to throw these flashy, freezing jerkbaits were on
the grass flats of Lake St. Clair and Lake Champlain for voracious
smallmouth that attacked the lures with an uncompromised aggression.
Watching a big bronze flash inhale a paused jerkbait over a grass flat
is something that ranks pretty high on my fishing list. That’s why when I
learned that mammoth spotted seatrout attack the very same suspending
jerkbaits with an equal amount of aggression on the clear, crystal grass
flats on the Gulf Coast, I found a new reason to live!
Make no mistake about it, seatrout love a suspending jerkbait. The
lures perfectly mimic so many types of baitfish that swim in the lush
seagrasses where big trout lurk. If I’m fishing vast grass beds with
decent water clarity (2 feet or more), I almost always have one tied on.
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