Jerkbait minnow - All you need to know about jerkbait fishing

Posted On 8 January 2023

Hello everyone, today we're going to talk about a family of lures: "jerkbait minnows". They are generally under-used in France, except for pike fishing. We're going to explain everything you need to know about jerkbait minnows and how to use them.

How do you recognise a jerkbait minnow?

This category of lures only imitates fish such as bleak or roach. Jerkbait minnows are therefore generally elongated and relatively thin.

If, for example, you're looking to fish in less than fifty centimetres of water, your jerkbait minnow should have a very short lip and its angle should be as close as possible to 90 degrees to the horizontal axis of the lure. If, on the other hand, you want a jerkbait minnow that goes deeper, its lip should be longer and its angle should be in line with the lure.

A jerkbait minnow is usually rigged with two trebles. Minnows with three treble hooks are very common on the market. It is also possible to replace treble hooks with single hooks. This will not only preserve the fish, but also give you greater protection when handling them.

How do you animate a jerkbait minnow?

There are several possible animations for a jerkbait. This family of lures is very versatile, allowing you to trigger attacks by animating in several ways.

• Throwing and dragging. To crank means to turn the crank. The aim is to crank the lure steadily over wide areas such as points, mid bays, baitfish balls and open water. The aim is to target suspended and active fish.
• Twitching: You should animate your jerkbait minnow with the tip of your rod. This will cause a mini pause after each tip strike, retrieve the line with your reel during this time. This animation is particularly effective for triggering reflex attacks.
• Bottom Tapping. This animation is also called "Deflection". The aim is for your jerkbait to hit the bottom and obstacles with its lip. This will have the effect of lifting the sediment. The fish are very receptive to this type of action on sandy and rocky bottoms (note: this only applies to longbill minnows).

What equipment is right for fishing with jerkbait minnows?

You'll need to choose your rod, reel and line body carefully to get the best conditions for moving your lure.

When it comes to rods, you'll need to pay close attention to the weight of your lures. For example, if you're using an 18-gram jerkbait minnow, a 5-21g rod would be ideal.
When it comes to rod action, it all depends on individual tastes, but we have a strong preference for regular/fast actions. They will be neither too dry nor too soft to handle minnows.

Here are a few models of CASTING rods that we recommend:

• Evergreen Orion "THE DEGEL" OCSC 67ML
• Deps Sidewinder " THE SPECKEL RACER " HGC-65HF GP
• Deps Sidewinder "THE BARDICK" HGC-610MLXF GP
• Evergreen Tactics "THE WARRIOR
• Golden Mean Packman PMC610M

Here are a few models of SPINNING rods that we recommend:

• Evergreen Light Cavalry CSCS-75M
• Deps Huge Custom HS10S-66R
• Huerco FF600-5S

Reels obviously need to be adapted to suit the rod. However, compact, lightweight reels are best suited to minnows weighing between 10 and 21 grams.

On the whole, we recommend ratios of between 7:1 and 8:1.

Here are our favourite compatible casting reels for jerkbait fishing:

• Aldebaran SHIMANO
• Bantam SHIMANO
• Metanium SHIMANO
• Metanium DC SHIMANO
• Antares 19 SHIMANO
• Alcance ZPI
• Steez DAIWA

For compatible spinning reels we also prefer the following reels:

• Shimano Stella 2500 FJ
• Shimano Twinpower 2500 FD

We often use braid on the body of the line to give the jerkbait minnow wide swings for maximum flash during twitching.
You can read our article: Braid or Nylon : which line to choose for lure fishing? to optimise your choice.

The Rodmaps team jerkbait minnow selection

We use this category of lures extensively and here is a short list of the ones we like best.

Left-hand list from top to bottom:

• Evergreen FA jerkbait 115
• Megabass vision 110
• Deps Balisong 100 SP
• Smithwick Suspending Rattlin Rogue
• Zipbait Orbit 110
• Allblue jerkminnow SP
• Tiemco

Right-hand list from top to bottom:

• OSP Asura
• Evergreen Inspire M1
• Evergreen Modo Faith 80
• OSP Durga 80 F
• Jackall Colt minnow 80
• Jackall squad minnow 80
• Rapala Flat Rap
• Sébile Puncher

Finally, here's a Youtube link from the Fishing Club explaining how to fish with a jerkbait minnow:

I hope you enjoyed this article.

Best regards

Nicolas Borreau