Lost a big fish yesterday on a small rapala shad rap jerkbait , three tiny treble hooks . What would you recommend doing to increase odds of landing a big fish on this type of bait. Thanks

Replace factory hooks with Gamagatsu Aaron Marten’s MH finesse hooks, problem solved. I put these on my jerkbaits this winter, I’ve lost 1 fish all winter.

[align:right][/align]What rod are you Using? And yes the G-Finesse is a really good jerkbait hook.. On bigger 3 hook jerkbaits I've even gone to a larger size front and back hook. Leave middle hook off.

Have a net ready when fishing jerkbaits.
Often times just a few hooks in the mouth with 7 little hooks ready to dig into your hand.

Too stout of a rod and "winching them out" can cause you to lose fish with tiny trebles.

Are you using Mono on them or Fluorocarbon line?




That goes for crank bait fish as well although the # of trebles is slightly less.

I would suggest going to a different rod. Hook size helps, but without the correct rod you will always have the struggle of losing fish on any treble hooked bait.

Better rod.

Bigger bait.

Yep, get a better rod. Jerk Bait rods are special. If your fishing open water, try Megabass Orochi jerk bait rod. If you are fishing around docks, Lews has a great jerk bait rod.

I'm using a saltwater popping rod for jerkbaits. It has a slower tip and works really well. Also good for small cranks. A stretchy line helps too.

Same, I'm using one of the original AllStar "poppin" rods. I think it's been discontinued, but it's perfect for jerkbaits and smaller cranks. It's a medium with moderate or moderate fast action. Loads up really nicely without being too whippy.

Fresh, quality hooks is step one. I replace them before tournaments or when they show any signs of dullness. Make sure the new hooks you get are the same size/weight as the ones you replaced or it will effect the buoyancy/effectiveness of the lure.

A slower action rod may help, but you can only go so far with that. Each rod brand's rating system is different, but a medium action is about as slow as you should go with a jerkbait rod because you need a crisp snap for the best action.

Even with good hooks and a good rod, you still have to be gentle with big fish on jerkbaits. Small hooks can just pull out even if you do everything right. You may not have done anything wrong in this case.

Question for the O/P. Im not trying to stir up anything but you asked a question and several have asked about your rod and others have given you good information. Why haven't you responded back to them?

He gone

Sorry for the late response gentleman and thank you very much for your advice. Rod is a 7. 4 medium heavy Dobyns champion extreme . Line was 12 Ib yo zuri fluorocarbon nylon hybrid with a Lew's bb1 pro 8.0 . I was fishing a point with some thick hydrilla and it had deep open holes throughout.