The soft jerkbait can be an extremely effective lure when bass are prowling the shallows where it can be twitched near the surface in open water or allowed to fall into any shoreline cover.

Savvy anglers have tinkered with the lure throughout the years to improve its effectiveness as a bass catcher. Here are four modifications and rigging techniques you can try to turn a fluke style bait into a multipurpose lure.

Adding Weight To A Soft Jerkbait

You can work a soft jerkbait different ways by placing nail weights in three locations.  Stick the nail through the jerkbait’s cavity near the front of the lure if you want the lure to fall slowly nose first. For a faster retrieve, add a second nail to the rear of the lure. Insert a nail into the rear of the lure to make it sink tail first and then it will jump out of the water when you jerk the rod.

Adding A Swivel To A Soft Jerkbait

Inserting a nail weight into a Fluke tends to inhibit the lure’s action. So, instead tie a barrel swivel on your main line and attach a leader line of 6-pound test/30-pound strength Spiderwire to the swivel and Fluke. The swivel serves a dual purpose of weighing down the lure and eliminating line twist caused by the bait’s zigzagging action.

When fishing open water, impale a number one octopus hook through the nose of the Fluke to get more action out of the lure. Exposing the hook this way increases your hookup ratio.

Using A Trailer Hook With A Soft Jerkbait

If you keep missing bass on a soft jerkbait, add a trailer hook to the lure. After rigging the lure with the hook you normally use, create a stinger by pinching an open eye siwash bait hook onto the larger hook and adding a piece of plastic tubing to hold the stinger in place.   Then insert both hooks into the lure’s cavity and back.

Adding Sound In Stained Water

Although it’s considered a quiet, subtle bait for clear water, the soft jerkbait can be productive in stained water by adding sound to its repertoire. You can create a noisy soft jerkbait by inserting a rattle in the lure’s body.

Trailer Hooks On A Soft Jerkbait

A soft jerkbait can also be used as a spinnerbait trailer when bass are chasing larger baitfish. The trailer gives the spinnerbait a larger profile and its quivering tail mimics the swimming action of a shad.