Soft Plastic Jerkbaits for Early Fall Bass

Schooling fish in the early Fall can be a huge kick in the pants to most anglers because of their tendency to turn their noses up to any and all baits you toss out. This can all change with the help of a little old springtime hero known as the soft plastic jerk bait! My favorite is the YUM Houdini Shad, and we will go into greater detail about why further in the blog.

Why is this a top choice, or should I say hidden secret? Because its lifelike action catches bass keyed in on bait better than any other lure! The quick darting action of a Houdini Shad and other soft jerk baits gives off an example of easy prey to bass heavily keyed in on bait and causes them to attack. This little rig is perfect for those times when bass are schooling all around you and won’t seem to commit on any topwater, swimbait, or crankbait.

How to rig

Rigging soft plastic jerkbaits is really simple, but there’s a couple little tricks that can make it really beneficial for pinning more fish that bite.

The first is to simply Texas rig the plastic, and I recommend choosing the largest extra wide gap hook I can get away with like a 5/0. This is to provide more weight so it can be thrown easier and to also provide more hooking power.

Second option is to use a small jig head such as an 1/8 oz. and thread the lure on it and cast it out. This rig is beneficial for anglers who can’t cast near as far or set the hook hard.

One key tip I employ with the Texas rig example is to thread a treble hook onto the wide gap hook point and place it in the Houdini Shad. This gives you some extra hooking power for short striking bass.

How to fish

Fishing a soft jerkbait such as the Houdini Shad is really simple. I work it just like I do a walking topwater like the Heddon Spook. Short rhythmic pops of slack line combined with slow reeling will cause this bait to dip and dart just below the surface.

Color choice should also be included into the how to fish because it is a very basic step. I basically only use the Pearl White model, but there are a few options to fit the best forage in your given body of water. If bluegill are present the Camo Pearl model works great, Gizzard shad can be matched with the Smoke Shad, and White Pearl pretty well matches shad everywhere!

Where to fish

Another point with a need to be addressed is where do you fish a soft plastic jerkbait in the early Fall?

The answer to this is very simple, and it is anywhere you would fish a topwater such as points, humps, over brush, mouths of creeks or rock piles.

Basically anywhere that has shad and bass present will make an excellent choice for fishing this little dude. I like to idle around places such as this and look for schooling bass hitting shad on the surface then start casting!