"Chris Rennert" wrote in message
...
James,

I am not sure where you are located, but I have found that water
temperature plays a roll in how suspending jerkbaits "suspend". I
personally never relie on them to suspend perfect out of the box. I
usually go up a size in hooks, and also keep suspend dots along with
me.

I used to wrap lead wire around the hooks, but I started to feel I was
losing fish because of that, and went away from it. It really takes a
lot of experimenting to find that perfect balance. Unfortunately you
probably only were able to purchase about 8 or 9 baits for that $45.00,
which don't get me wrong , but it is a great start. I personally have
a "frigid" jerkbait ( 45 degrees)box, a 45 and above box. I can't go
so far as to say that it is brand specific, because I haven't been able
to go through all of them. I do know husky jerks give me hell in VERY
cold water, but X-Raps seem to suspend very very good in those same
ranges.

I also have not thrown Rogues much, though I know a lot of my Walleye
buddies swear by them, and I have purchased some for this spring, and I
am just waiting for the ice to get out of my way so I can slam a few
hooks home :-).

CHris

James wrote:
I have not done any fishing in several years. This past month I
decided to take fishing back up again. So I was searching around on
the web to see if there was anything new about fishing that I was not
aware of. I came across a fishing tactic called "dead-sticking a
jerkbait". I found this on the Bass Pro Shops' web sight. If you
click on Fishing Library and then go to the article titled, "A Great
Way to Catch Pre-Spawn Bass" it will tell you all about it. You start
with a suspending minnow lure about 4 ½ to 5 inches long. You cast
the lure then crank it down to the depth you want to fish it. Then
you stop cranking the lure and do absolutely nothing. Just let the
lure stay suspended. The article says to leave it for as long as 2
minutes or more. The Bass is supposed to hit it while it is
suspended. If you read the article they make it sound as though you
are going to just clean up on the Bass doing this.

So I went out and bought about $45.00 of suspending minnow lures of
different sizes and colors. I made sure that every lure had the word
"Suspending" on the package. I bought 6 Rapala and 3 Storm lures. A
suspending lure is suppose to be neutral buoyant. It should not sink
and it should not float. Until I read this article I had never heard
of a suspending lure.

These new lures looked real pretty in my tackle box. Last night I
decided to put one of them in a bucket of water to see what it would
do. Every one of the Rapala lures floated. I could hold it on the
bottom of the bucket but as soon as I took my finger off it would pop
to the top like a cork. Every one of the Storm Lures would sink like
rock.

So this evening I put my boat in the river to see what these
"Suspending Lures" would do in the real world. I used the same set up
they used in the article. A 7' light rod with 8 lb monofilament line.
In the real world the lures did the same thing they did in the bucket.
The Rapala lures float and the Storm Lures sink. The article said to
let the lure set motionless for 2 minutes. That Rapala lure will be
floating on the surface in about 15 seconds if you stop cranking the
reel.

I believe that sometimes fishing articles are written for no other
purpose that to sucker you into spending money. They hooked me and
reeled me right in to the turn of $45.00. The lures are pretty
though. James

Well, there are always "suspenddots"
http://www.stormlures.com/products/index.html