JERKBAITS – THE TOTAL STORY WITH GARY DOBYNS
By: Terry Battisti
“People think it’s a hard technique to learn and master but I think it’s the easiest to learn and gain confidence in.” – Gary Dobyns
The Pointer 128 zings through the air past the stand of tules, which is the main target. As the bait hits the water the angler starts his methodical cadence back to the boat – jerk-jerk-pause….jerk-jerk-pause. The angler envisions the bait darting side to side through the water like a baitfish trying to flee a predator – that is until the bait reaches the stand of tules.
His normal twitch of the wrist is suddenly stopped as dead weight keeps the rod tip from moving backwards. The anger senses the weight and sweeps the rod back, setting six barbs deep in the bass’ jaw. Another fish has succumbed to the dance of the jerkbait.
Anglers all over the country are finding more and more the versatility of the jerkbait. Yet, many anglers are often intimidated by them or don’t understand what is needed in order to fish this special genre of baits effectively. This is why we sat down with venerable western pro and jerkbait artist Gary Dobyns to uncover some of the mystery behind the bait and what he prefers tackle-wise.
“Without a doubt, I get more questions about this technique than any other,” Dobyns said. “People think it’s a hard technique to master but I think it’s the easiest to learn and gain confidence in.
Tackle is a major player when it comes to success with jerkbaits. “The rod is so important in jerkbait fishing and this is probably the number-one mistake anglers make when starting out,” he said. “The rod is all about working the bait and loading properly when you hook a fish. You want enough action in the rod it’ll hook the fish yet not so much that it’ll tear the hooks out of the fish. For this, I like a medium-fast action rod. This action allows the rod to bend into the mid-section of the blank and act as a shock absorber.
“My favorite all-around rod for jerkbaits is my 705CB. If I had to use only one rod, that’d be my choice. But, if I’m throwing a lot of smaller baits like a Pointer 78 I’ll drop down to the 704CB. Likewise, if I’m fishing a heavier bait like a Pointer 128, I’ll upsize my rod to a 706CB. The important thing about all these rods is they’re all medium-fast in action.”
Reels are also important in his eyes. “Without a doubt, I believe the fast reels, like the Diawa Zillion, with at least a 6.3:1 gear ratio are the best for this type of fishing,” he said. “This is because it’s more difficult to keep up with the bait with the slower reels.”
Line is another area where first-time jerkbaiters make a mistake. “A lot of anglers fish too heavy of line,” Dobyns said. “You’ll never find me fishing anything heavier than 12-pound test, even in heavy cover. In fact, when I fish the clearer reservoirs, I drop down to 8-pound test. I also prefer monofilament line. It’s not that fluorocarbon won’t work, I just have better luck with the mono.”
He has also refined his bait selection over the years to a few simple choices. “My number-one bait of choice is and always has been the Lucky Craft Staysee 90SP ver 2. That bait has won a lot of money for me over the years. My second choice is the Pointer 128 and then the Pointer 100 in both the standard model and the DD series.
I use the 100DD over the Staysee when I’m fishing largemouth as opposed to spots and smallies. In the later case, I use the Staysee. The difference in the two is the Staysee is a smaller-profile bait where the 100DD has a deeper body and dives deeper too.
“As far as smaller baits, I like the Pointer 78 in both the standard and DD models. The DD has been another money-bait for me. It doesn’t dive much deeper than the standard but had a different action and when the pond smelt come up in the fall, this bait will put a lot of weight in the boat fast.”
There’s another bait he throws other than the ones mentioned above. “The other bait I throw is the 1/2-ounce Rattlin’ Rogue,” he said. “But there’s nothing stock about them. I pull the lips from them and replace them with lexan lips I hand carve. The new bills are larger than stock and give the bait a better roll in the water and they go deeper too.”
That isn’t all he does with bait modifications. “The bait I modify the most is the Staysee. I reweight them so they don’t suspend but sink slightly. I do this by adding two suspend dots to the bait right where the bill meets the body. This gives the bait a slight nose-down attitude and I can get the bait deeper because of this. If I want the bait to go deeper, I’ll add another suspend dot right behind the first hook hanger. Weighted in this fashion, I can get a Staysee to hit 10-foot depths.”
Hook change outs are another modification he does on nearly all his baits. “For the Staysee, I change out the original size 5 hooks to size 4 Gamakatsu round bends. Generally, I do this with all my jerkbaits – going up one size from the stock hooks.”
In the last issue of the Bass Anglers Guide, Dobyns talked about color choices. He reiterates his choices here. “I keep my colors simple for jerkbaits and I classify them into specific shades – white, flashy, chartreuse and subtle. My favorite is Ghost Minnow and that’s my subtle color. I use it when I’m in clear water. My second color is Chartreuse Shad (white). I generally start off the day with this color and then switch to Ghost Minnow as the sun gets higher in the sky if the water’s clear. The third color is Table Rock Shad (chartreuse). This is the color I throw on dark days or if there’s stain in the water. Spots and smallies also hate this color. The last color I use is American Shad (flashy). This is probably the best color ever invented for Clear Lake and a great color when a flashy bait is needed.”
Dobyns also takes into consideration the season of the year and weather conditions. “Overall, I prefer low-light conditions with rain and some wind because of the decreased light penetration and the low pressure seems to make the fish more active.
“As far as seasons go, spawn and fall are by far the best times to use these tools. If an angler doesn’t have at least one rod rigged with a jerkbait in the spring, they’re crazy. Post-spawn is especially good for them when the fish are guarding fry on the nest. The fall is good because the fish have turned on again and have come shallow chasing bait. Summer is absolutely the worst time of the year to throw them.
Cadence is also important when fishing these baits. “I vary my cadence until I figure out what the fish want. Mostly, though, I use a jerk-jerk-pause retrieve. How long you let it set is the million dollar question, though. More often than not I'll let it sit only 1-2 seconds with my longer pauses being maybe 5-7 seconds at the most. I'm using this technique as a power-fishing technique in order to cover water. Another retrieve I use is a pop-pop-pop like the bait’s trying to get away. This is a retrieve that’s more popular in the east, though. You just have to experiment each day and figure out what the fish want.
Proper drag settings and hooksets are tantamount with being successful. “Hooksets are very important, he said. “You use a sweeping set so you don’t rip the bait out of the fish. Another important factor is drag tension. My drags are set so they slip when I get the rod 3/4ths of the way through my sweep.
“The cool thing about jerkbaits is you can get both active and inactive fish to eat them. The fish don’t need to be in a feeding mode. They draw strikes when other techniques won’t do anything.
Dobyns credits jerkbaits to his success as a pro bass angler. “If it wasn’t for throwing jerkbaits, I wouldn’t be a tournament fisherman. I made a lot of my money and won a lot of boats using them. I was one of the first people on the west coast using this technique and I had a long time when I was the only one using it in tournaments. That allowed me to gain a lot of confidence in the technique and gave me an edge on the competition. Hopefully you’ll take some of these tips I have come up with over the years and use them to increase your success on the water.
Gary Dobyns is sponsored by Ranger, Evinrude, Dobyns Rods, Diawa, Lowrance, Minn-Kota, Power Pro, Costa Del Mar, Yamamoto, P-Line, Robo Worm and Sawyer and Cook Insurance.
Terry Battisti is a freelance writer and columnist for magazines such as: In-Fisherman, Bass West USA, Inside Line and BassFan.com. His sponsors include BassCat Boats, Mercury Marine and American Northwest Outdoors.
