FRESHWATER / WEIGHTLESS
A weightless soft jerkbait on a light offset hook is the most natural-looking thing you can throw at a bass. No weight to fight, no hardware to startle. These are the picks that work in calm conditions, over grass, and whenever the fish want something that falls like it belongs there.
BUYING GUIDE
A weightless soft jerkbait works on the fall and on the pause—not the retrieve. Rig it on a 3/0 or 4/0 wide-gap offset hook, nose-hooked for a jerkbait action, and throw it on 10–14 lb fluorocarbon. The cast lands, the bait sinks on a slack line while it darts and glides, and you watch the line for a jump before it even hits bottom. Most strikes happen before the bait reaches depth.
The Zoom Super Fluke is the standard, and for good reason: it falls slowly, has the right profile, and comes in the colors bass eat. The Yamamoto D-Shad is a heavier-salt version for smallmouth and clear-water applications where a slower fall is not enough. The Keitech Swing Impact FAT is the pick when bass want a paddle tail instead of a flutter tail.
ZOOM
The cheapest assassin in your tackle box. Twitch, pause, watch it disappear.
ZOOM
When the regular fluke is too small for the mood you're in.
YAMAMOTO
The Japanese fluke. Heavier salt content, slower fall, smug attitude.
YAMAMOTO
The bait that ruined the word 'technique.' Throw it out, let it sink, wait. That's it. That's the whole seminar.
STRIKE KING
Cheap, walks well, comes in colors that should be illegal in three states.
GAMBLER
A fluke that flutters on the fall like it owes money. Bass disagree with this lifestyle.
KEITECH
Squid-scented Japanese plastic with a paddle tail that thumps at any speed. The FAT version displaces more water and pushes a bigger profile. Smallmouth lose their minds.
FIELD JOURNAL
Best Soft Jerkbaits for BassVIEW ALL
Soft Jerks.MORE WAYS TO JERK