Change Pace for Fall Jerkbait Success

Posted by Wayne G. Barber
When it comes to catching bass on a jerkbait in the fall, throw out every rule you think you already know about jerk baiting.
  Fish are on the move: The big difference between a winter jerkbait bite and a fall jerkbait bite is that the fish are constantly on the move this time of year. It's a lot different than the winter, when bait is grouped up. As we get into October, and conditions continue to change – the amount of daylight changes, the water temperature changes, the location of the bait changes – fish just become more active. They move around a lot.
Change your pace: Fall jerkbaiting is all about the pace. Whenever I take people fishing this time of year around my home in Rhode Island, I always tell them "Don't take your foot off the gas." What I mean by that is "Once you start working that bait, don't stop. Don't even slow down."

THE BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WINTER JERKBAIT BITE AND A FALL JERKBAIT BITE IS THAT THE FISH ARE CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR


And I mean exactly that.  Cast it as far as you can, and once that bait hits the water, start jerking it and keep doing it until you get it back to the boat. No pause at all! That's a whole lot different than the "jerk, jerk, pause" retrieve I tell people to use in the winter. Don't pause. Fish are actively feeding this time of year, and they're much more apt to hit a moving bait.

Finding fall fish: Bait will be very visible on the water this month, and I don't think it makes a difference if the wind is blowing at all. Fish are feeding up, so unlike in the winter – when your best jerkbait bites happen when it's breezy – you don't need the wind to blow.

When I'm searching for active fall fish, I always start on the biggest point on a major creek, and work my way back into the creek. That's how the fish will move: they'll start at Point A and transition back to Point B, and you can follow them right in.

Best fall colors: I throw in shad colors 99 percent of the time: Real Shad, Clearwater Shad, XXX Shad, etc.

My jerkbait setup: I fish the Jerk Bait on a 7-foot medium fast Abu Garcia Villian rod and a 7:0-1 reel spooled with 15-pound P-Line fluorocarbon.

Sometimes I set up a second rod with a big golden shiner to see if live bait will out fish the Jerk Bait.