Soft Jerkbait

Soft Jerkbait Lures, also called flukes, are cover contact lures known for their weedless setup and for mimicking wounded bait fish with it erratic, side to side, darting, jerking motion on a jerk retrieve or a dying bait fish as it slowly sinks on a slack line.

Anatomy: Soft Jerkbait lures are soft bait lures which feature a jerkbait soft plastic typically with a single or double (forked) pointed tail a hook either set up weedless or nose hooked.

Variants & Other Names: 

  • Donkey Rig: Also known as the double fluke rig, or tandem flukes, is a rig that results with two jerkbaits soft plastics on the same line. 
    • Rigging: Start with placing a barrow swivel on the main line with a free floating second barrow swivel before the main line one. Then, using a 12 – 18 inch leader on the main line swivel and a 2 to 3 ft leader on the second free floating swivel tie two texas-rigged or nose hooked soft baits. Some suggest a bobber stopper ahead of the free floating swivel to assist in casting. Some suggest a texas-rigged for the back bait.
  • Mojo Rig: See Carolina Rig, if adding a weight pegged 2 to 4 ft from the soft jerkbait you have created a Mojo Rig. Mojo Rigs can use any light soft bait.
  • Fluke: A manufacturer’s name. 

Lure Action. Erratic, side to side, darting, minnow-like jerking motion.

Search Bait: Less common.

Pros’ Choice: Less common. 

Figure 1: Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ Rigged
Manufacturer's Details
Figure 2: Donkey Rig Courtesy of Minimalist Fishingerman
When to Fish Soft Jerkbaits

Soft Jerkbaits are minimal contact lures  typically selected when:   

  • Targeted Depth is:
    • Shallow: Common including in can be fished as a top water surface contact lure.
    • Deep(Offshore): Less common but possible by using a bullet weight that can be used on the nose to make it dive or a weighted hook to make the soft plastic sink naturally.
  • Fishing Speed is:
    • Fast: Commonly considered fishing fast cover water.  The speed is impacted by the weight of the lure.  
    • Slow: Not commonly considered fishing slow but it can be slowed down with short jerks in the jerk retrieve and longer pauses. 
  • Lure Visibility is:
    • High Lure Visibility: Common, as it mimics a bait fish.
    • Low Lure Visibility: Not common. 
  • Targeting Cover: Some suggest all lures are good near cover where soft jerkbait lures are used when contacting:
Specific Soft Jerkbait Lure Selection

Selecting the Soft Jerkbait Lure Type, as a soft bait lure type,  there are the following key decisions:

  • Lure Color: As lure color selection is mostly tied to the lure visibility download the Acute Lure Color Breakdown™ Infographic.
Download the Acute Lure Color Breakdown™ Infographic
Rigging Decisions

As a soft bait lure type, the common rigging considerations includes:

  • Hook Options and Attributes:
    • Offset Round Bend Worm Single Hook or Extra Wide Gap Worm Hook:
      • Texas-Rigged: Common as it is weedless plus the hook below the soft plastic provides the weight to keep the soft bait straight and most natural. In fact, some suggest adjusting the amount of plastic hooked at the nose, in other words where the hook is located in the soft plastic, as it will impact the lure action.
    • Spear or Twist-on: Some use worm hooks that secure the soft bait to the eye.
    • Nose Hooked: Less common and it will provide maximum action but could result in more short strikes. Some suggest smaller hooks including a 1/0 or any drop shot or neko hook.
      • Centering Pin Spring: Some suggest using a centering pin spring in the soft plastic to better secure the hook and to get longer casts.
    • Hook Exposed: Not common to have the hook exposed on the back of the soft plastic.
    • Thick Wire Hook: Some use a thick wire hook to gain weight recognizing that the will need a slightly more power in the hook set.
    • Weighted Hook: Less common except in deep(offshore) water.
      • Light: 1/16
      • Common: 1/8, 3/16
      • Heavy: 1/4:
  • Hook Size:
    • Small: 1/0 for nose hooking.
    • Common: 3/0, 4/0, 5/0
    • Large: 6/0 (provides more weight)
  • Add-on Weights: As a soft bait lure, the fall rate can be estimated based on the profile of the soft plastic and the add-on weight.
    • Options and Attributes:
      • Barrow Swivel: Some say size 5 barrel swivel between the leader and main line to provide some additional weight plus reduce the line twist.
      • Rattle: A rattle can be inserted to provide weight and some sound for example in near low lure visibility scenarios.
      • Nail Weight: Nail weight is added, sometimes with glue, to add some weight. Some suggest using the hook to first create a hole for the nail weight near the front of the soft bait. Some add a second weight in the tail. Also, nail weights can result in the soft plastic jumping out of the water when jerked.
      • Weighted Hook: Not common, as it is difficult to texas-rig, unless the hook has a spring/screw or spear soft bait holder.
      • Bullet or Nose Weight: Not common, as it can be a challenge to with the jerk retrieve.
    • Add-On Weight’s Weight:
      • Light: 1/16 oz
      • Medium: 1/8, 3/16 oz
      • Heavy: 1/4 oz
Download Rod Infographic
Soft Jerkbait Presentations

Presentations for soft jerkbaits are commonly considered a horizontal presentation and a slack line presentation with the following considerations:

Additional Considerations
  • Add-on Blade: Less common, but not recommended for jerk retrieves.
  • Trailer Hook: Less common, with some suggesting a treble hook and rig it the same way a soft swimbait (called a stinger hook when used with soft swimbaits) with a treble hook with one of the barbs inserted in the top of the soft bait.
  • Seasons: Some suggest fishing slower in spring, fall, winter and faster in the summer  
  • Sight Fishing: Common, as control speed and the action with jerking to gain the bass’ attention and pausing until the bite or jerking again to regain the bass’ attention.
  • Suspended Bass: Common, as control the depth of the retrieve.
  • Follow Up Bait: Less common. 
  • Slack Line Bites: Some suggest be a line watcher as the bites are hard to detect since most occur during the pause when the line is slack.
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