Northern Pike Lures: Jerkbaits

If you want your Northern Pike fishing experience to be more than just sitting in the boat waiting for a bite, and really want to engage yourself in the sport of fishing, you might really get a kick out of fishing with jerkbaits. The way jerkbaits got their name is simple; these lures do not make any wobbly movements themselves, unlike other Northern Pike lures such as crankbaits. Instead, the main source of movement comes from the angler and the way in which he moves, or jerks, the rod. This twitching of the fishing rod will create motions that mimic injured minnows or baitfish, which are what pike tend to prey upon.

There are two main groups of jerkbaits: gliders and divers. Gliders move side to side, and divers move downward. Divers feature a metal fin on the backside of the lure which can be bent; this will control the angle at which it dives. Since divers move downward, they are generally better at cutting through weeds than gliders. When purchasing jerkbaits, look for lures with natural-looking colors and stripes. Since your goal is to imitate an injured fish, the appearance is just as important as the lure’s movements.

Fishing with jerkbaits will take a little practice, but the basic technique is fairly straightforward. You will want to focus on jerking your rod downward in sharp motions. It is best to use a short rod that is stiff so that you aren’t hitting the water with the tip of your rod. Most jerkbaits float, and because of this, some anglers choose to add weights to their bait to achieve more depth. However, others do not subscribe to this fishing philosophy because they believe that adding this extra weight will diminish the effectiveness of the bait and the jerking motions; adding too much weight could cause less of a gliding movement than what is needed and desired to attract a pike, and the weight of the hook and leader will be enough to gain acceptable depth. Your best bet is to experiment with using weights and see how much weight you want to add, if any.