Jump to content
SmokeyJ

Jerk Bait vs. Minnow Crank

Recommended Posts

Maybe this is a stupid question, or if there are no stupid questions, maybe I am an inquisitive idiot, but I was wondering if there is a substantial difference between a jerk bait and a "minnow crank". I have heard both terms used, and sometimes even heard both used by different people to describe the same lure. Is it an issue of how its weighted, or what?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@ SmokeyJ

First time I come across that term "minnow crank"(English is not my mother language) , so I can't really answer your question , which I don't consider to be stupid at all:wink: !

Here in Germany there might probably be a similar confusion about different lure types as well , so that magazines already wrote about the differences .

For many lure-types the English term for it has struck over here as well , local lure-fishermen are familiar with the terms "jerkbait" , "twitchbait" , "glider" , "diver" , "sinker" , "floater" , "swimbait" !

For spoons , plastic shads and crankbaits we use other terms than those English ones .

Well , your question reminds me to something , that I have once read in a local angling magazine :

Someone asked the difference between a twitchbait and a crankbait(German : "Wobbler") , the guy stated , that both have diving bills , so why they are called by different terms ?

The answer was something like that the twichbait should be fished in a twitching manner , the crankbait should be just reeled in at various speeds and ocassional stops ...........but there are certain twitchbaits , that can also be cranked very well , some crankbait models even catch better , when tey are twitched on ocassion.....:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:! ! ! !

About one year ago in a Hamburg tackle shop I've found a shallow running , new lure model from "Rapala" , this one on its box was called a "slashbait"........:eek::eek::eek::eek:!

Though I don't know the term "minnow crank" , I don't think , that you'll get an answer to your satisfaction on your question , which is not stupid:wink: , not as stupid as all these confusing terms .

greetz , diemai

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks diemai, I think you get the gist of my problem. A LC pointer is considered a jerk bait. But it certainly has action on a constant retrieve (in particular the live pointer version). Does that mean it could also be considered a minnow shaped crankbait? Or is a stick bait with a diving lip always considered a jerk bait?

I was just curious if there were actual distinct classes with distinct weighting features that distinguished the action between the two?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well when I think of a minnow bait, for me it all started with Rapalas and there floating versions that only dove a verys shallow amount, yet I basically combined them as a crank and a twitch. Then for me along came Smithwich Rogues and Rebel Long A's and these were pretty much only twitched but some versions went deeper, but while they still had that 'minnow' shape they were mostly called jerk baits.

Well along comes the suspending versions of Rouges and Long A's as well as the influx of Japanese baits that mostly suspend and the 'Jerk Bait' acronym pretty much stuck with these baits. The shapes changed some also to create a little more random action when twitched or jerked and pause during the retrieve.

So for me jerkbaits suspend and minnows float, well kinda sorta.... because some jerkbaits have the classic minnow shape.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well if your into musky fishing a jerk bait is a whole different story than bass fishing.For bass fishing the term jerk bait is a bait that you sweep and pause the bait more than twitch or crank that just my opinion. Im sure someone will correct me but thats what I always called them, I'll stick to musky jerks, a no lipped , back breaking ,fish catching machine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 'ol grandad said that minnows are for catching fish.

Jerk baits are for catching fishermen.

I never argued with grandad.

Well if you lived further north where the water gets cold, you're 'ol grandad would be missing a whole lot of fish he could be catching if he didn't cough up the $16 :eek: for a LC Pointer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...and when I think that I was too afraid to ask such a question, because I thought that everyone should know the difference between a jerk bait and a minnow crank, even those with a poor knowledge of English as myself...

I thought that every lure with a lip should be called crankbait, wether a fat one or a minnow type one. And that a jerk bait is another word for a glider.

Finally I wonder if I really know what types of lures I make?:eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...and when I think that I was too afraid to ask such a question, because I thought that everyone should know the difference between a jerk bait and a minnow crank, even those with a poor knowledge of English as myself...

I thought that every lure with a lip should be called crankbait, wether a fat one or a minnow type one. And that a jerk bait is another word for a glider.

Finally I wonder if I really know what types of lures I make?:eek:

That is what makes it even funnier, ro. Rapala is marketing a lure in the x-rap series here in the states called the Subwalk, which sounds to me like what you would consider a jerkbait or glider (a subsurface one, mind you). Man, this stuff is a pain.

So I guess a question for you musky guys, are gliders and jerkbaits synonymous to you, and do you make suspending/sinking gliders as well as floating gliders/walk the dog lures? Do you guys laugh at bass guys throwing smithwick rogues and calling them jerkbaits? :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I get the difference that you are illustrating PB. I guess what I was trying to figure out is things I have read and guys who I have talked to fishing lures that you and I would traditionally call jerkbaits with a crankbait retrieve, and it got me wondering if they are weighted differently, or if any jerkbait can be retrieved as a crank, and if there is a difference in the weighting, what makes the ones that work well either way so different? Is it lip configuration, weighting, body shape?

Add on top of that, it seems musky fisherman have a completely different definition for jerkbaits as well, but I am not entirely sure if it is synonymous with what some call gliders.

Somebody just shut my head in a door a few times and I'll stop talking :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The main difference between jerkbaits and crankbaits is that jerkbaits are fished in an active, jerk-jerk-pause cadence, and have an erratic action. The more erratic the better.

Generally, jerkbaits are a shallow (3-10') lure. The deeper they run, the less erratic their action, and the more important their suspending action becames.

For winter bass, a Staycee jerked down to 8', and then paused, is a great lure. Because the SoCal waters I fish are clear, bass see the lure come down, and, when it's paused, slowly come over to investigate it. When it's jerked again, they hit it out of instinct.

The colder the water, the longer the pause, sometimes up to a minute. And the colder the water, the smaller the jerks. Sometime, just a twitch is enough.

In warmer water, when the fish are more shallow and in cover, I throw an Orbit 80, which runs down to 3' max., and jerk it quickly. I throw it right to the outside edge of flooded brush, or into a open lane, and then retrieve it with a fast cadence, and micro pauses. Fry guards, and fish hiding in the brush, or weeds, will come out and smash it.

Jerk baits make great search lures.

I guess you can tell I like jerk baits. :teef:

Edited by mark poulson
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The term Crankbait probably came into use in early 1960 by bass fishermen and refers to plug (what lures are call in the 1920,30s and now mainly the salt guys) or lures that has a built in action when retrieve. A cover all term.

A jerk bait refers to the special category of crankbait that is fished with a twitch and pause or designed to be fished so. You can still crank a jerk and have built in action but it's more effective jerked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mark Poulson, PB and LaPala,

Thanks for the explanations. Things are clearer in my mind as to the difference between a crankbait and a jerk bait. But still, a question remains. Are there crankbaits that cannot be twitched? I think that the border line between the 2 terms is quite elusive. And as far as I know, this is the situation with the English language only. In Romanian language, any wooden or plastic lure with a lip is called a "vobler" (from the German word "Wobbler"). I think the situation is the same with the French language, where the lures with a lip are called "poisson nageurs" ("swimming fish"). Maybe our friends from Germany, Holland, Norway etc. could tell us what is the situation with such terms in their languages.

In Romanian language, there is not a word for a lure such as a glider, so we use the English word. BTW, if I had to think of a lure that can be twitched, the first one which would cross my mind would be a glider, and not a jerk bait.

I think that English language conquers the world in the fishing industry as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ha Ha, hey rofish you just provided me with an opening to quote you this quote:

By becoming attached to names and forms, not realising that they have no more basis than the activities of the mind itself, error rises and the way to emancipation is blocked. -Buddha

Whatever a fishing lure is categorized as or labeled is just a convenient way to refer to them. Know how to use or misused one the important part. As long as I'm catching fish plus know how and when to use what I'm happy. Who cares who calls it what LOL.:yeah: :yeah:Have I mentioned I made a jerk-glide pencil?:whistle:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@ rofish

absolutely right about a lot of English terms are used in fishing concerns nowadays . Well , but many of these things are quite new to us in parts of Europe , so we use these terms from Great Britain and America as well .

I read recently , that in Germany a couple of thousands English or English-related terms are in use more or less , lingual scientists found out about that , and it's becoming a problem for older or less educated people to get through their daily lifes , since they don't always quite understand about many things , f.e. the features of many electronics in advertisments .

And one funny thing about it is , that some of those word creations don't even exist in English language(in that sense of their meaning) , f.e. our common word for "mobile phone" is "Handy" , nobody uses the German translation "Mobiltelefon" !

Another example is the word "service point" , can anyone of the English-speakers imagine , what it means ?

German authorities or companies with public contacts use this term to name an information desk , where people may ask information , f.e airlines and the federal railroad use it !

It is all a bit confusing :(, just modern times !

Greetz , diemai

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LaPala,

I love your quote from Buddha's wisdom. And I agree with your way of thinking.

Diemai,

Same happens here. There are an increasing number of English words finding their place in the Romanian language, and this is frustrating for older people. 2 days ago, my father, who is 84, saw a big poster, and asked me what the word "fitness" on the poster meant.

There were many debates here over this situation, some say we should adopt Romanian words for some new products, services, etc, but since such words do not exist, they are simply "naturalized" from the English language.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In America, the English we speak is made up of words from all the cultures that we immigrants brought here, so it's really bastardized. But it's the easiest language to say exactly what you mean, because it's stucture is so loose, and there are so many different words incorporatated in it.

It is not, as we now speak it, nuanced. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting thread, because it also reveals a common problem in general communications on the board about a lot of common questions.

Sometimes questions are posed that do not refer to the targeted species. The answers can vary according to the species targeted by the builder giving the answer.

Example: "What is the best wood to use to build a jerkbait?"

Answer: (technically) It depends on what you mean when you say "jerkbait."

Even the eternal questions about final clear coats can vary according to the targeted species.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought a jerk bait was a white lure that was raised as a black lure by a black jerk bait family.. all the time thinking he was a black lure.. then later in life.. this little jerk finds out he is really white and invents a funky eye glass holder that makes the world cross eyed!!

Who cares what it is as long as it catches fish!

The Rookie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought a jerk bait was a white lure that was raised as a black lure by a black jerk bait family.. all the time thinking he was a black lure.. then later in life.. this little jerk finds out he is really white and invents a funky eye glass holder that makes the world cross eyed!!

Who cares what it is as long as it catches fish!

The Rookie

I like the part where the Jerk Bait discovers his "Special Purpose", and when the Jerk Bait says "He hates these cans, stay away from the cans!"

Edited by Palmetto Balsa
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!"

I still say that every year. I look forward to saying it. It makes my day. It makes me happy.I think it even makes the neighbor children happy, but I can't tell cuz they're always running away.

Anyone gotta problem wid dat?:teef:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...


×
×
  • Create New...
Top