Ultralight Fishing With A Jerkbait
Fishing with a jerkbait using ultralight fishing tackle is another excellent way to catch more bass out on the pond. You never know when one of those slab gills are gonna tear these up either!
When it comes to fishing a soft jerkbait, the last people think of is ultralight fishing gear. This is a mistake though, because when you start throwing jerkbaits on ultralight tackle you are going to greatly increase your hookup ratio. The reason being, bass love smaller baits, even panfish, and a small minnow, shiner, or smelt jerking by is irresistable.
When you are ready to rig up a jerkbait to use on ultralight gear, I prefer to use a jighead. Using a light 1/16 or 1/8 oz head will allow a nice slow sink, but also a nice jerk through the water. You can even deadstick one of these in the wind if the fish are being picky! I like to match the color of the jighead to the color of the bait I am using, and sticking to natural colors you would find in the pond around you.
The jerkbaits I prefer using are Berkley Gulp! 2″ and 2.5″ minnows. These baits are excellent thrown weightless with no wind, or using a jig head with the wind and the fish being a little more aggressive. When you are viciously jerking these things, the fish hit like a freight train. But when you slow down, because of finicky fish, you really learn where Gulp! comes alive. The scent release technology helps the fish hold onto the bait longer.
Tags: finicky fish, Fishing Gear, Fishing Tackle, freight train, gills, hookup, jerk, jerkbait, jerkbaits, jig, jighead, love, minnow, mistake, natural colors, people, pond fishing, release technology, shiner, slab, Ultralight, Ultralight Fishing, Ultralight Fishing Lures, ultralight fishing with a jerkbait, weightless
Great articles on pond fishing with UL!
I’d like to add another technique that many people won’t generally think about with UL – the dropshot.
I “accidentally” discovered the beauty of dropshotting on UL a couple of years ago when I was fishing a pond in the late spring that had massive muck on the bottom. All my jigs and sinking plastic baits were coming back just covered in muck. So, I went to dropshot just out of frustration of trying to keep my bait clean enough to get a bite and I started catching bass like crazy!
My favorite is a Netbait Paca Craw in the smallest size on a 1/0 hook about 6″ above a 1/8 oz. weight. I know this is a very normal kind of setup that lots of people use for catching bass but, nobody I had talked to had ever tried it on 3# line with a UL spinning rig. I’m sure others have thought about it or done it but, I thought it was worth sharing.
Tight lines,
Al
I’ve never thought about that, you’re right. Were you fishing from a boat? Or from the shore?
I’ve had a lot of problems trying to dropshot on my BC rig from the shore, but haven’t gotten to try it on a boat yet. Here in Florida, the Carolina rig and buzzbait usually reign supreme. I’ll have to get the d-shot a chance! 😀
Josh
Yep, Josh. That was from a boat but it wasn’t in very deep water at all. I was fishing a steep bank at a pond where the water was only between 3′ and 5′ deep.
Here in the south, we really don’t fish d-shot that much unless it’s a deep-water lake and we find fish around deep-water docks (20′ or so) or along a ledge or a channel that drops off pretty steeply underwater. Of course, I’m not usually fishing with UL on those BOWs.
I love a tiny UL buzzbait, too! Love that explosion!