I haven't tried jerbaits very often and need to start fishing with them more. What are some of the better brands out there for jerkbaits and when do you find they catch the most bass??
For me
It's a Smithwick Rouge
The good thing is there cheap and I do better with them over the LC's
I like rapala X-raps. I've caught some big smallies on it. You can cast them a mile with the internal weight system.
love the X-raps, still pricy, but far less than LC's, and have had similar success.
My initial jerkbait choice is an XRAP 10 - it casts great, suspends well, and I can fish it as slow or aggressive as I want. In cold or very clear waters I'll go to a LC Pointer for a more subtle presentation - I find that the Pointer suspends better and has more realistic finishes. Always vary your retrieve with jerks and pauses of varying cadences and let the fish tell you how subtle or aggressive to be.
I like a bunch of them. It depends on what I'm trying to accomplish. They're a tool and the various Rogues, Long A's, Lucky Crafts all work very good at the right time. Sometimes it's most important to keep the jerkbait up near the surface and sometimes it's more important to get the jerkbait down just another foot or two to convert more followers to biters.
Last week up north, it was important to get the bait down closer to the bottom and weeds so I used a LC Staysee. Size sometimes matters too.
I'd go with your budget and try to have a small selection of natural colors with a few brighter colors that can be fished near the surface and down 4 to 6 feet or so. Sometimes a smaller jerkbait size will outproduce a larger size too and vice versa. Spend more time in how you fish them verses what brand you fish to catch more bass.
Megabass Vision 110 or Jackall Squad Minnow
They're pricey, but I've had real good luck in the past with both baits.
7 inch Rapala Husky Jerk in the clown color. Rapala x rap in the clown color. Mann's Loudmouth Jerk bait in Chrome clown. For some reason these are my most consistent jerk baits on all waters and conditions. "Confidence jerk baits" is the politically correct term I would use to describe them.
BD ;D
For Lake St Clair or inland ??
For LSC, At least until June, the absolute go to bait is a LC ghost or chartruese shad 100. As basic as green pumpkin or canadian mist tubes .........
For inland, its tough because, I feel, it almost becomes lake dependent - or forage dependent..... Im not much help for your there. My rap X is pretty beat up as is my Rouges ........
I fish Inland lakes mainly near Midland, Bay county area. I only have one jerkbait and it's a X-rap, need to go buy more and start practicing!
I love the smaller Husky Jerks for 'stealth' jerkbaiting!
I use the megabass to get the xtra depth, but ive caught more on a jr. thunderstick than and other jerkbait.