Postby Ca_Bass » Mon Aug 13, 2012 2:20 pm
I actually prefer trokars for softjerkbaits over the gamas except for the price difference. The gamas I feel are just about as good, but the trokars aren't worth the extra $. If I didn't have to pay for them, it would be trokar for softjerkbaits(don't like them for texas rigged baits in cover because they tend to get hung more often for me) One thing you have to remember with softjerkbait fishing is it inherently comes with missed fish. I would highly recomend using scent with them and you definately have to let them eat it. A lot of time they just don't get the whole thing I theie mouth or they will nip the tail or just hit and spit faster then you can react because they are only hitting it as a reaction strike. Another thing that may increase your hookup ratio is playing with hook size. In general I think a 3/0 is good, but some of the thicker or larger baits like 5 inches do better on a 5/0. I played around a lot with the light wire and heavy duty hooks as well. With a fluke I have more hook ups with a lighter hook, I think this is because the plastic is harder and the light wire hooks move more easily though it. Baits like the caffine shad that are softer I prefer a heavier hook as they seem to hold up better and still penetrate well.
Another tip when fishing open water is to not skin hook the tip just leave it exposed. That is probably the best advise I have for softjerks. I used to always skin hook them no matter what type of cover I was using but it does cause some missed fished.
There are so many things that can increase or decrease softjerkbait hook ups. But a high speed reel, a 6'10" to 7ft rod and flouro or braid will also help drastically. since you fish sjb's with with slack in the line, a longer rod helps pick up slack and so does the high speed reel. Using lighter braid obviously elimates stretch and come through the water faster. As there is less drag because of the smaller diameter so you can get a quality hook set a tad faster. Same goes for flouro, just depends if you want to keep your bait higher in the strikezone with braid or let it get down more with flouro. I usually opt for flour as you can work the bait faster to keep it up or use a lighter hook. Its harder to get them down with braid without adding a nail weight which is hard to rig without making your bait spin.
One thing I started doing that is really popular down south here is adding a mediuam to heavy swivel. It obviously eliminates line twist that come with sjbs and also helps get your down a little bit seems to get me more bites then working up more like a topwater.
Luck is when opportunity and skill meet.
