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Recently, I've heard a lot of "comments" from people, about what they believe a jerk shad is supposed to be. Some say a injured baitfish, others say a shrimp (this is what I believe), and others, still, say it's both. Since pretty much all of ya'll know a lot more on this topic (I'm assuming) I'm asking what you think.

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Hey Willie, good question, but could you post a photo of the shad you're jerking? And yeah, that sounded kinda nasty...

I'm guessing injured baitfish because they call it a shad, duh.

And yes, it's the Post-Thanksgiving funk we're now officially in.

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Dandydon wrote:Hey Willie, good question, but could you post a photo of the shad you're jerking? And yeah, that sounded kinda nasty...

I'm guessing injured baitfish because they call it a shad, duh.

And yes, it's the Post-Thanksgiving funk we're now officially in.

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Alrighty, here

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Something good to eat. Something to trigger a bite. Approximately the right size, right profile, right motion (thanks to fisherman) gets the fish, we hope.

But, I do think about what fish might respond to and whatever decision making process they go through.

karstopo wrote:Something good to eat. Something to trigger a bite. Approximately the right size, right profile, right motion (thanks to fisherman) gets the fish, we hope.

But, I do think about what fish might respond to and whatever decision making process they go through.

Uh, ok. That does hold true now that you put it like that, but should I use it when shrimp are active or when baitfish are.

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Uh, ok. That does hold true now that you put it like that, but should I use it when shrimp are active or when baitfish are.

That's a really good question. If someone could fish it one day when they have identified the main bait as shrimp , then fish it another day when shrimp seem absent and little baitfish of one sort or another are abundant, then we'd have an answer based on their success on those two days. Hopefully they will report the results here.

Personally, I've never figured out when or how a split tail works better than other go-to plastics.

Yes we need someone with the expertise to spill the beans

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For me it mimics fish in the boat. Don't know why the fish like it but for me they tend to and so it has forced me to use it in all conditions. When you have it near the boat with clear water, give it a jerk or two and watch its action through the water - when I do this I can see why a fish would take it.

I use it on a twist lock hook and so is a bit more weedless and not as prone to snag oysters and such than a jig head.

YakRunabout wrote:For me it mimics fish in the boat. Don't know why the fish like it but for me they tend to and so it has forced me to use it in all conditions. When you have it near the boat with clear water, give it a jerk or two and watch its action through the water - when I do this I can see why a fish would take it.

I use it on a twist lock hook and so is a bit more weedless and not as prone to snag oysters and such than a jig head.

Thanks! I use it on owner twistlocks to in the 1/8 weight.

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I’ve decided that some of the best lures or flies tend to be approximations of something or more than one something good to eat, sort of chameleons that go in different directions depending on how the fisherman work it. There’s 15 thousand types of soft plastic paddle/rat tails when you consider all the various color and tail combinations. I do think some tail configurations can be better than others some days, maybe based on what the fish are feeding on.

I’ve looked into a lot of fish’s stomachs and there’s generally a mix of prey in there. Sometimes, there’s a mix of shrimp and finfish, maybe a few shrimp and then a 4” mullet or crab parts and a blenny, or some shad along with a mullet or two. There’s been strange looking fish like the blenny and others like mud minnows, maybe something eel like.

To me that suggests fish are opportunistic and may just decide to shoot first and ask questions later when they decide to eat something. It moves like prey, it’s going to fit in my mouth, it’s not going to attack or eat me, I’m faster than it, let’s eat it, dad gum it, I’m hungry!

Does a DSL paddle tail really look identical to any living fish? Or a gold spoon? I think they can suggest different prey based on how they are movedor fished and that’s good enough to get some of the fish some of the time.

karstopo wrote:I’ve decided that some of the best lures or flies tend to be approximations of something or more than one something good to eat, sort of chameleons that go in different directions depending on how the fisherman work it. There’s 15 thousand types of soft plastic paddle/rat tails when you consider all the various color and tail combinations. I do think some tail configurations can be better than others some days, maybe based on what the fish are feeding on.

I’ve looked into a lot of fish’s stomachs and there’s generally a mix of prey in there. Sometimes, there’s a mix of shrimp and finfish, maybe a few shrimp and then a 4” mullet or crab parts and a blenny, or some shad along with a mullet or two. There’s been strange looking fish like the blenny and others like mud minnows, maybe something eel like.

To me that suggests fish are opportunistic and may just decide to shoot first and ask questions later when they decide to eat something. It moves like prey, it’s going to fit in my mouth, it’s not going to attack or eat me, I’m faster than it, let’s eat it, dad gum it, I’m hungry!

Does a DSL paddle tail really look identical to any living fish? Or a gold spoon? I think they can suggest different prey based on how they are movedor fished and that’s good enough to get some of the fish some of the time.

Blennies live along the gulf coast??

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I think you only need to worry about "matching the hatch" when the fish are clearly feeding on something specific. Such as fish under the birds are feeding on a particular school. Or flounders when they are feeding on glass minnows. Or fish under the lights on glass minnows :\

Chubs wrote:I think you only need to worry about "matching the hatch" when the fish are clearly feeding on something specific. Such as fish under the birds are feeding on a particular school. Or flounders when they are feeding on glass minnows. Or fish under the lights on glass minnows :\

Ok I was just looking for a good rule of the thumb but I will go ahead and just match the hatch.

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