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Old 09-01-11, 12:39 AM   #1
HawksFan67
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Default What's the difference between a Crankbait and a Jerkbait?

This may be a dumb question but I have to know. Is there a difference? If so, what is it.

I bought a tackle box full of hard baits at a flea market. How do I tell which is which? I've already separated them between floaters and sinkers. Now what?

And input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Brian

PS..... If there is a difference, which type of rod should I use for each. I already have a St. Croix 7' MH crankin' rod.
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Old 09-01-11, 12:53 AM   #2
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Jerkbaits aka ripbaits are usually longer and more slender then a crankbait. The lip is also usually at more of an angle then you're average crank. Most of them commonly used for bass fishing in the cooler months are suspending.

The way you fish them also varies. For a crankbait, usally a cast and retrieve method is used. For a Ripbait, you used more of a jerk-pause (2 - 60 seconds, depending on water temp, colder the water, longer the pause) retrieve.

If you brows tackle warehouse, for cranks and ripbaits, you'll notice some differences.

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Mediu...-HBMCRANK.html (cranks)

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Rip_B...age-HBRIP.html (ripbaits)

A combo for cranks usually is long and limber, and has a slow reel.

A jerkbait combo, usually is short 6 - 7 max seemed to be the norm, with around 6'6" being the norm. The reason for such a sort rod is because you usually jerk them with the rod tip down. With a long rod, you'll be waking the water more then with a short rod if you're not careful. M - MH. Some people like a stiffer rod for them to get a sharper snap out of the bait. You you look at technique specific rods for both, you'll see the differences. I think falcon has some TS ripbait rods. A fast reel is good for ripbaits. Good for picking up slack line after you rip the bait a few feet. But depends on personal preference.
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Old 09-01-11, 12:57 AM   #3
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And does it matter if it floats or sinks?
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Old 09-01-11, 01:01 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HawksFan67 View Post
And does it matter if it floats or sinks?
I don't really know of many ripbaits the sink, but I could see how they'd be good for fishing deep water... count it down to the depth you want.

Floaters real versital (like the original rapala), but tend to work better in warmer water. You can reel them straight in, wake it on top, jerk it like a injured bait fish, and the list goes on. No wrong way to do it.
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Old 09-01-11, 02:04 AM   #5
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Here are some photos of the hard baits I have. Some I bought. Most I got in a flea market deal. Which are the cranks, which are the jerks?



Picture #1 12:57 Going left to right.

1. Rapala Countdown 3"
2. Rapala Countdown 3"
3. Rebel Little Suspend R 3"
4. Heddon Tadpolly 3"
5. Eddie Pope Fishback 2 2"



Picture #2 12:57 Left to right.

1. Rapala Countdown 3.5"
2. Rapala Countdown 3.5"
3. Rapala Countdown 3.5"
4. Rapala Countdown 3.5"




Picture #3 12:57 Left to right.

1. Rapala Countdown 4.5"
2. Rapala Countdown 4.5"
3. Rapala Countdown 4.5"
4. Rapala Countdown 4.5"




Picture #4 12:41 Left to right.

1. Rebel Little R Suspend 3"
2. Rebel Wee R 2.5"
3. No ID marks at all
4. No ID marks at all
5. Rapala SSR-5 2.5"




Picture #5 12:36 Starting top. Left to right.

1. Rapala Dives to 3ft Blue 3"
2. Rapala Dives to 1ft Blue 3"
3. Rogers Deep Jim Gray 4"
4. No ID marks at all. Orange 4.5"
5. Rapala Dives to 1ft Purple 3"




Picture #6 Left to right.

1. Rapala Jointed 3"
2. Rapala Floating 2"
3. Rapala Floating 2"
4. Rogers Deep Jim 3"
5. Rapala 5.5"




Picture #7 12:33 Left to right.

1. Original Rapala Floating 4.5"
2. Rapala Jointed Finland 4"
3. Rapala Deep Runner 4"
4. Rapala Deep Runner 4"
5. Rapala Deep Runner 4"

Last edited by HawksFan67; 09-02-11 at 01:55 AM.
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Old 09-01-11, 08:35 AM   #6
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Most of your slender, minnow shaped baits would be clasified as jerk baits. Top pic, the 2 small on the left are jerks. Next 2 pics, all are jerks. Next pic taken at 12:41, the 2nd from the right is a jerk. The next pic, at 12:36, is more of a waleye crank/jerk bait. the next pic at 12:33 has the 2 yellow and then blue, short jerk baits, the bait on the right is a slash bait, it's designed to be jerked and paused right under the surface. The last pic has the 2 gold baits on the left, they are both jerks, but the 2nd is a jointed jerk bait. It looks like most of your jerk baits are rapala's. Notice that you don't have a spilt ring on the nose. You will need to learn to tie an open loop knot on those baits or add split rings to them. You can cast them out and reel them in,and they will catch fish, but they tend to work best when you develop a cadence of jerks and pauses. A jerk can be anything from a gentle twitch to an aggresive sweep, it depends on the bait and the mood of the bass. Most of your baits have short bills, that means they run shalow. Long bills run deep. I think most of yours are floating baits, but many jerk baits do sink and you can count them down. I don't think that any of your baits are suspending, they would probably say that on the side if they are, so they will float to the top if you pause it very long. Work those with quick , gentle jerks to imitate an injured minnow. A lot of people think that jerk baits are for cool season prespawn only. Thats complete hogwash. They work good then, but they also work good anytime fish are suspended or feeding on top. It's hard to beat a rapala twitched around busting baitfish in the middle of the summer. Also, try them right next to a laydown or fallen tree. Now, that last pic has 3 rapala crankbaits that are mid to deep runners, those are great baits for cranking on points and on structure. Crankbaits work best when they hit things. You want them to bounce off of trees, stumps and rocks. In the other pics, you have a nice mix of shalow, and medium baits. Some have sqaure bills and some are round. Square bills work real good in thick cover, they will bounce off the branchs of a fallen tree and somehow come through it. The last thing i noticed is that a lot of the hooks are rusty. The baits look great, but i would buy several packs of a good replacement trebble and new split rings. They are easy to change and good hooks will make a big difference. I use mustad tripple grip hooks, Gamakatsu makes a very good hook also.

Last edited by pro reel; 09-01-11 at 08:40 AM.
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Old 09-01-11, 08:04 PM   #7
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I think we have different ideas of what constitutes a jerkbait. I'm not saying you're wrong and I'm right. For example, the two at the left in the top picture and all in the next two pictures look like Countdown Rapalas to me. In my little world of fishing, the Countdowns have never been called jerkbaits that I've seen. Perhaps they can be fished like jerkbaits, but that's where the resemblance ends for me.
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Old 09-01-11, 09:04 PM   #8
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Looks like the only ones that suspend are the the second to the last pic. Looks like a rapala x-rap (99% sure of that), and I think all models suspend. Pro reel hit the nail on the head about witch ones are jerkbaits and which ones are cranks though.
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Old 09-01-11, 09:12 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty View Post
I think we have different ideas of what constitutes a jerkbait. I'm not saying you're wrong and I'm right. For example, the two at the left in the top picture and all in the next two pictures look like Countdown Rapalas to me. In my little world of fishing, the Countdowns have never been called jerkbaits that I've seen. Perhaps they can be fished like jerkbaits, but that's where the resemblance ends for me.
I don't think we do, but maybe. I guess it depends on what you do with them. I could not tell for sure in the pics if they were countdowns or just the small rapalas, but once you count them down, do you crank them or give them twitchs and jerks? Any jerk bait can be fished like a crankbait and any crankbait can be fished like a jerkbait. My definiton of a jerk bait is loosly based on the minnow shape, as i think that the rapala design that started it all was intended to be twitched and jerked instead of just cranked.
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Old 09-01-11, 10:02 PM   #10
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The Rapala jerk bait models are definately count downs. I have had success with the smaller ones by slowly retrieving just above the lake bottom or just above submerged weedbeds with short periodic jerks. Actually, I've found a long tug/pause/jerk jerk retrieve can be very effective with count down Rapalas. Now that jointed Rapala in the last pic looks like a floater. They work very well with a slow steady retrieve with jerks mixed in.
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Old 09-01-11, 11:37 PM   #11
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Maybe I should add that all baits in pictures 1..2..and 3 sink. All in pictures 4...5...6...and 7 float.
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Old 09-02-11, 12:30 AM   #12
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sinking or floating doesn't have anything to do with what type of bait they are. Crankbaits and jerk baits are both available in sinking, floating or suspending models. If we were to get more technical with the clasifications, some of the baits that I called jerkbaits, would not be what many would clasify as an actual jerbait, but they also would not be clasified as a crank bait. They are those somewhat in between baits that are called by thier names. Maybe anyone that knows for sure what these baits are could point them out. That may even help with your understanding of what they would be best suited for. The sinking minno shaped baits in the first few pictures are definalty countdown rapalas. I consider them to be a member of the jerk bait group because thats how I use a bait like that, most of the time. A lot of other anglers use them as a steady retrieve bait. They have a very tight wiggle to them when used as a retreive bait and they tend to run at a steady depth for most of the retrieve. They are also widley used as a trolling bait. I think that a lot of walleye anglers use them that way, I supose they would be an excelent smallmouth bait when used that way up North? I do Know that if you toss them out on a deep point, count them down, and then start a jerk, jerk, pause cadence, they can work just as good as any other jerkbait. So these baits really are a multi use bait. I can't identify the cranks in the top pic, but that blue bait is interesting. It looks similar to an old lazy Ike bait, but not quite. baits like that were very popular many years ago and they had an action all of thier own. Try it out and see what it does, that might be killer on lakes where bass have not seen one in a long time. The Orange bait in the 12:36 pic looks similar to a walleye crank bait to me. Walleye baits have traditionaly been slender bodied cranks where as the wider body cranks are more commonly used for bass. I'm not positive, but that looks like it is a wiggle wart, but I have never seen a wart in that body style. If it's original, it may be valuable. The red bait in the 12:33 pic is a wiggle wart crank bait. Look at the bottom of the bill. If it the words "wiggle wart" are stamped on the bill, then it's an original bait. That color was very popular in the original wart baits and sells for $15 to $20 bucks on ebay. The shiny silver and red bait next the the wiggle wart, thats a rapala X Rap most f that style bait is called a slash bait. It fishes similar to a jerk bait, but is more agresive in it's action. It looks like it's in new condition and those are expensive baits. The gold baits in the bottom pic are rapala baits, I think they are the #11 or #13 baits. the second one is the jointed version,
Rapala's Original Floating Minnow is the lure that started it all and is still one of the most popular lures around. Whether twitched on the top as a surface bait, retrieved as a shallow runner, weighted with a split-shot for medium depths or bottom walked off a sinker rig, the Original Floating Minnow's wounded minnow action continues to be irresistible to game fish. At least 2 of the baits in the bottom pic are the rapal shad rap cranks. Those are a medium to deep running crankbait that has been time tested and proven to be an excelent crankbait.
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Old 09-02-11, 12:40 AM   #13
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I wanted to ask.. would any of these have any colector value? Some of them look antiqueish. Might be something the fish haven't seen in a while too :P
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Old 09-02-11, 02:06 AM   #14
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OK I updated the pictures. I'm a sports card collector as my main hobby (Hockey). But now that I have a stepson, I want to take him fishing. You know, the whole bonding thing. That's why I got back into the fishing deal head long.

So anyway, I took my hobby lamp I use to magnify cards to carefully determine their condition, and looked over all the lures. I wrote down what marking I could find and listed them under the pictures above.

BTW. Thanks to all that replied to this post and others I have made here. It has been very helpful. I'm sure with the information you guys offer up here, my fishing experience with my son will be rewarding and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Thanks again,

Brian
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Old 09-02-11, 02:54 AM   #15
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Here is a story I posted at one of the forums I buy/sell/trade sports cards at. It's about taking my step son to his first hockey game and the memories that were made.

I thought I'd share it because with all the help I've gotten from you guys, I hope to be writing about my fishing experiences with my son. So once again, a very heartfelt "thank you" to all who take the time to answer my questions.


Originally posted 10/29/2009





This isn't my usual show and tell post where I'm posting my pick-ups for the week. Instead, it is a post from a very proud step dad..................

This last week, I took my 6 year old step son Ethan to his fist major sporting event of any kind. Naturally is was a Chicago Blackhawks game. It made me feel so good to see his eyes wide open like a dear in headlights. He was so excited even though he had no idea what was going on.

We arrived early enough to see former Blackhawk Reggie Kerr signing autographs. Of course we stood in line for our turn and when I explained to Mr. Kerr that it was my son's first game his eyes grew big and his smile as wide as mine. He gladly signed an autograph for Ethan and when he shook hands with him he bellowed in a deep voice, "squeeze my hand hard like a man and look me in the eye's when you talk to me". Toughening up a future player???? My son squeezed his hand as hard as he could and said, "thank you Mr. Kerr", as we moved on. His first brush with an athlete........

Next, we moved on to where they we doing the pre-game live for comcast sports. I was going to pick him up on my shoulders and stand in the back round and hopefully get him on TV so his mom could see him. I made sure to tell her to watch the game just in case.

As we were waiting for them to go live I noticed a few of the Hawks ice crew girls posing for pictures with the crowd. ( Hubba ...Hubba..) I thought, sure why not. So I got my son in a picture with some HOTTIES...... Oh... to be 6 years old again......

BTW..... What the hell is that guy in the back round looking at????????



And of course they gladly signed an autograph for him...............


Comcast went live and I was able to get my son in the back round and I told him to wave at the camera. Not 15 seconds later I could feel the phone in my pocket vibrating. It was his mom as giddy as a school girl. "Oh my God he looks so cute!". She was watching her son on TV and couldn't believe it.

Too bad she didn't record it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got the usual must haves for a game. Nachos, hot dog, soft pretzel and a couple of cokes, then settled into our seats. "Is this like where they play on TV dad?" Ethan asked. It almost brought a tear to my eyes because it was the first time he called me dad instead of Brian. I WAS SO PROUD.....

I said, "no, this is EXACTLY where they play on TV". He was so overwhelmed taking it all in. The huge building, the crowd and everything else going on around him that he was experiencing for the first time.

The lights dimmed and the crowd roared as the thunderous sound of the Hawks war drum started to beat.......BOOM....BOOM BOOM BOOM....BOOM....BOOM BOOM BOOM...........It was time for Hockey!!!!!










I could probably go on and on.............

In the end as we were leaving the building, Ethan asked me. "Could we go to that place by our house where they have the ice?". I said, "do you mean the ice rink where we saw those kids skating?". He said, "yes, can you teach me how to ice skate?". I said sure, no problem. Then he asked, "can you teach me how to play hockey?". I said ABSOLUTELY!!!

In the car on the way home I could see Ethan in the rear view mirror. Fast asleep, way past his bed time. As I looked at him a tear did come to my eye's. I wondered if I had done my father proud by passing on this right of passage. Remembering my first game with my dad and what it was like, and wondering what it must have been like for him and his father before him....

All I can say is, dad, I hope your proud of me. We have a new generation of Hawks fan in the family............

Thanks for reading as always................

Brian

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