A Primer for Lucky Craft Jerkbaits
By Chip Pillow, Lucky Craft Regional Pro Staff

I love fishing in early spring. It's one of my favorite times to fish. No PWC's, and the lakes are not overrun with pleasure boaters and anglers. However, the biggest reason I love early spring fishing is I get to throw one of my confidence lures, a jerkbait. Lucky Craft jerkbaits were my clear water favorite long before I joined the pro staff. I found their performance and life-like finishes were unmatched. I also loved that I could throw the bait through three zip codes, even in the wind. However, when I first started fishing these jerkbaits, I was confused by the sheer number of options. There were so many names, sizes, and colors that I would often stand in front of this massive selection like "Joe Joe the Idiot Circus Boy." Then I would find myself thinking, "Come on, it's just a freaking jerkbait. Why do they have all these models?" Well, I learned I was wrong. Dead wrong! While Lucky Craft does have a large selection of jerkbaits, each one is designed for a specific purpose. In this article I would like to try and demystify the many models of jerkbaits that Lucky Craft produces so that you can confidently select the jerkbait that best suits your specific need. In order to do that, I am going to focus primarily on the action of each family of jerkbait and the depth at which they perform.  I will also add the conditions under which I have found these baits to work best.  This will not be an exhaustive list of the entire line up.  Rather, I am going to focus on the models in general.

As an introductory note, one aspect of understanding the Lucky Craft classification of baits is that the number associated with the bait most often means its length in millimeters. For instance, the FlashMinnow 95MR is ninety-five millimeters long. This knowledge will aid the angler is choosing the best size jerkbait for their application.

FlashMinnow The FlashMinnow (95MR, 110SP, and 130 MR) is a suspending jerkbait that is a shallow diver with a slim profile and a slightly rounded bill. These characteristics provide the bait with a wide swimming action that is very erratic when twitched or jerked. The FlashMinnow will reach the two to four foot range and will suspend horizontally in the water. As is often the case for jerkbaits, it is difficult to marry the bait's ability to perfectly suspend with a wild, erratic action without sacrificing one quality over the other. With the FlashMinnow, Lucky Craft has achieved the perfect marriage.

Atlanta bass guide and jerkbait guru Mike Bucca (www.tritonmike.com) calls the FlashMinnow the "sleeper in the Lucky Craft line up" (sorry Mike, but the cat's out of the bag!). Bucca told me the 95MR is his all purpose search bait. In addition to the erratic action and suspendability, the qualities that Mike likes are the #4 hooks and the baits ability to mimic the Spot Tail Minnow. This proves highly effective when he is trying to fool spotted bass, which are notorious followers and pick pockets.

I have found the FlashMinnow to be most effective when bass move shallow just prior to spawning. As water temps rise, causing bass to migrate closer to their spawning locals, they also become more active. These fish seem to prefer a bait with a little more erratic action. Additionally, the FlashMinnow has also proved to be an effective bait for the Fall, particularly over and around grass edges. Because the size of the forage has typically increased, Fall fishing also means that I usually upsize my offering to the 110SP. Another advantage is that the 110SP has 3 sets of treble hooks which increase my hook up ratio when fish are "slapping" at the bait.

Bevy Shad (75) Is this a crankbait or a jerkbait? I wonder if the inability to classify this bait has been something that has kept anglers from using it. I'm not sure where it fits either. I do know that it has an important place in my box. The Bevy Shad has a small profile and possesses an oval, pointed bill which causes it to dive very quickly to the seven to eight foot range and swim with a tight wiggle. However when jerked the bait will dart to one side. When paused, the internal glass rattle causes the bait to creep into the nose down position. This position represents a feeding baitfish, if the Bevy Shad is close to the bottom, or a disoriented baitfish if it's fished higher in the water column. I have also found that in cold water the bait will sometimes sink ever so slowly to its depth range. This characteristic proves deadly when dead sticking the bait (pun intended).

Given the characteristics of the Bevy Shad, Mike Bucca uses it when the strike zone is small and he needs the bait to get there quick. "I fish the Bevy Shad in places like docks, shade lines, or when I'm paralleling a bluff wall" Bucca revealed. I use the bait in a little different fashion. I typically fish this bait earlier in the year, when other anglers are throwing shad raps. The cadence is key as I sweep/draw the rod forward (similar to fishing a Caroline rig) and then give two pops at the end of the draw. Then let the bait sit and do its thing. So it's a draw, pop, pop, rest. This technique is very effective in highly pressured "community holes" that hold good fish. The other place I use the Bevy Shad is when the fish don't seem to want bigger profile baits. Again, this often happens on highly pressured lakes where a more "finesse" approach is needed.

Lucky Craft has also added two new baits to its lineup that are in the shad family. These baits are the Slim Shad D-7 and D-9. I have not fished these baits as of the writing of this article. These baits appear to be the perfect size for shad imitating baits. The D-9 is available through several tackle stores and the D-7 is offered exclusively through Cabelas. I would highly recommend you pick up a couple of these baits for early spring fishing. I know I will be throwing them.

Staysee (90 ver2, 90 ver3 Dobyns) When the fish are deep, as they are in late winter and the very early spring, the Staysee is my "go to" clear water bait. It has a slender profile that will cast a mile and reach down as deep as nine feet. It will suspend nose down and provides incredibly realistic side to side action. Ok, truth be told. The only reason I started fishing the StaySee in the first place involves two words: Gary Dobyns. For those familiar with jerkbaits that ought to sum it up for you. For those of you who are not, he is referred to as "Gary The Ripper" out west. The man has made much of his living with a jerkbait, and specifically the Staysee 90. This year Lucky Craft even put his name on one. The Dobyns version 3 has larger hooks and is slightly heavier giving it a little bit more running depth while maintaining the action that makes the bait a fish catching machine.

Mike Bucca told me about an interesting way he fishes the Staysee in cold water. Mike said that rather than the jerk-pause cadence, "I get them down to their maximum depth and then I just creep them along. Sometimes I will slowly reel them, then stop and add subtle, short twitches." He said this technique also works well after a Spring cold front when the bass are suspended. Bucca also added that he will use a Staysee in the winter when other anglers are using a crankbait. "The advantage is a crankbait will rise out of the strike zone when you pause it. With the Staysee, the bait will stay suspended and pause....right in their face."

Pointer And last, but certainly not least...The King. The Lucky Craft Pointer has become the standard by which all jerkbaits are judged. Most of you probably already own a couple so it needs little introduction. However there are several models of Pointers, so let me describe the difference as each one serves a distinct purpose.

The staple in the Pointer series is the Pointer SP (65, 78, 100, and 128) which dives to four to five feet has a great rolling action that suspends almost horizontally. Additionally, the internal brass rattles will causes the bait to rock ever so slightly when it sits motionless in the water. These characteristics make the pointer easy to use and highly effective. The perfectly weighted balance system in this bait allows it to respond to subtle twitches that will cause it to "walk the dog" under water. It is very important not to over work the bait. Slight twitches or jerks are all you need to impart great action.

The Pointer SP is most often my starting point for jerkbait fishing. The wide variety of lengths allow me to "match the hatch" to the exact baitfish size. I typically start with the SP 78 in early Spring and work from there. If the water has a slight stain, or if the fish prefer a larger profile bait, the 100 SP fits the bill. Now if I am moose hunting, I will go to the 128 SP. This joker has some girth. It weighs an ounce and carries three #4 hooks so you are going to need a little heavier tackle. The large profile of this bait also provides excellent water displacement for low light conditions, such as dark, cloudy days or when the water has a little more stain.

The Pointer Deep Diver (DD) carries the great Pointer profile and action while providing added depth. The most popular models are the 78DD and the 100DD, which dive to approximately 7-8 feet. The most common question I get is, "What's the difference between the 100DD and the Staysee? Good question. The Pointer 100DD will not dive quite as deep as the Staysee 90 ver2. So if I need the deepest diving jerkbait, I am going to tie on my Staysee. However, the Staysee has a smaller, more slender profile. So while I am gaining depth, I am giving up beef. The other difference is the Staysee suspends more "nose down" whereas the Pointer DD suspends more horizontal. So, it depends on what I want the bait to do, how deep I need it, and the mood of the fish that dictate which bait I choose.

The Slender Pointer (82, 97, 112, and 127) is the final jerkbait I will cover in the Pointer family. This bait was introduced as a "smallmouth bait" as it carries a slim profile, 3 sets of treble hooks, and dives in the 3-4 foot range. Again, what is the difference? I have found that the Slender Pointer has a little bit more erratic action than the Pointer SP. Where the Pointer SP tends to jump forward when twitched the Slender Pointer tends to sashay in a more side to side fashion. However, the action is not quite as erratic as the FlashMinnow. So if I know the fish are shallow, or high in the water column, I will alternate the Slender Pointer with the FlashMinnow until I uncover which bait the fish prefer that day.

Lucky Craft Jerkbaits are tools that every angler needs in their arsenal. The overall effectiveness of these jerkbaits has proven themselves time and time again. Understanding which jerkbait is most applicable to which specific situation will only increase their effectiveness. However, nothing is more beneficial than time on the water with these baits. Time spent throwing (and catching) will provide a high degree of confidence in Lucky Craft jerkbaits. This late winter or early spring, I encourage you to tie on a couple of Lucky Craft jerkbaits and spend time getting to know the specific characteristics of each bait. Who knows, you might even start to prefer those cold, prespawn days on the lake.