Jerkbaits and Flukes

By Lynn Burkhead


Evers is also a big fan of fishing soft-plastic jerkbaits and fluke-style baits -- especially as the spawn winds down.

"These are huge in the post-spawn pattern," said the five-time CITGO Bassmaster Classic qualifier. "Bass are starting to feed up on shad again -- that, and bluegills. So those two baits can imitate those really well, plus bass are starting to school.

Evers noted that since these baits imitate shad really well, an angler can skip them up under boat docks and back into tight places. "It is a bait that covers the upper water column," he explained, "and I like to work it in heavy cover," Evers said. "When I fish one of these baits, I'll twitch it side to side. I'll do that two or three times, let it die and fall, then do it another two or three times, and let it die and fall again. They'll typically hit it in between twitches, or when you're letting it die."

When he fishes such a bait, Evers typically rigs up a Bass Pro Shops white or a baby-bass-colored model with a green back with a 4/0 offset round-bend hook; this the pro throws with a high-speed reel spooled with Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon line in the 12- to 14-pound-test range and mated with a 7-foot medium-action BPS Pro Qualifier rod.

"The high-speed reel is real important in fishing these baits," he explained, "so that you can reel in the slack in a hurry to set the hook."