FRESHWATER / WALLEYE
Walleye eat jerkbaits. The Rapala Husky Jerk was practically designed for them, and the Smithwick Rogue has won more walleye tournaments than most people realize. These picks cover trolling, casting, and jigging for walleye in every depth.
BUYING GUIDE
Walleye eat suspending jerkbaits differently than bass. The pause is longer—ten seconds is a starting point, not a ceiling. Walleye often follow a bait for several yards before committing, and the pause is what triggers the turn. The Rapala Husky Jerk in silver/black and firetiger are the two colors that Great Lakes guides keep tied on from October through March.
For trolling, switch to the Shadow Rap Deep or the Krocodile spoon. Trolling walleye at 1.5–2.5 mph is a different technique than casting, but the flashing shad-minnow profile matches the same forage walleye key on in open water. Run fluorocarbon leader on all of these—walleye are line-sensitive and clear water is where they live.
RAPALA
Balsa that's been embarrassing bass for generations. Carry a spare. You'll lose one.
SMITHWICK
Cold-water religion in a long thin package. March bass tournaments have been won on this one bait.
RAPALA
Dies on the pause, literally rolling onto its side like a wounded baitfish. That death-roll action is what separates it from every other jerkbait in the box.
LUHR JENSEN
Wide wobble, heavy flash, casts a mile. The Krocodile has been the go-to casting spoon for salmon, trout, and steelhead since before most anglers were born. Works in salt too.
BILL LEWIS
The #1 selling lipless crankbait in history. The rattle is louder than your drag, bass hear it from thirty feet, and the yo-yo retrieve through grass is tournament 101.
LUCKY CRAFT
The deep-diver in the lineup. Pulls strikes from fish that ignored everything shallower.
FIELD JOURNAL
Jerking 101, the cadence that catches fishVIEW ALL
Hard Jerks.MORE WAYS TO JERK