Fishing techniques: Suspending jerkbaits

I had always considered a jerkbait a summer lure, but my time in the US taught me the value of the jerkbait during the spring. Many tournaments were won by anglers fishing jerkbaits whilst the water was still cold.
Knowing that jerkbaits are not often used during the cold season in SA, I made a point of learning all the intricacies of fishing with a jerkbait before the spawn.
Temperature and water clarity play a key role when fishing with jerkbaits. As the water starts to warm during the warming trends, baitfish and other forage species are often the first to start moving up into the warmer layers of water.
Dark-bottomed bays or banks with dark clay or rocks will warm the quickest if the water is clear enough for the sunlight to penetrate. Bass will follow these forage fish into the warmer water.
This is where the importance of a fishfinder with a temperature sensor comes into play. You will need to keep your eye on the finder all the time and keep a tab on the temperature readings. Look for warmer water and baitfish activity. You should see both on your finder.
Good pre-spawn areas to fish are points and flats that extend deep into the lake, creek mouths and points at the entrance of bays, and dark coloured banks close to river channels.

Suspending Hard-Bodied Jerkbaits

The secret to cold-water jerkbait success is the speed of the retrieve. This is why we use a suspending jerkbait. Once you have cast out the lure and worked it to the required depth, you need it to suspend at that depth where you pause the retrieve.
Fan-cast over your target areas using a stop-and-go retrieve. You want to jerk the bait on loose line, causing it to move erratically from side to side but not forward!
Your forward movement should be minimal. Do not be afraid to leave the lure suspended for long periods of time. It is not uncommon for anglers in the know to pause their retrieve as long as 2- to 5 minutes. The strike often occurs as you first twitch the bait again. You have to be patient!
The best rod-and-reel outfit to use for a hard suspending jerkbait would be a 7-foot medium-action spinning rod and reel.
Fluorocarbon line sinks and will help the bait to suspend at deeper depths.

Soft-Bodied Jerkbaits

During the post-spawn a soft-bodied jerkbait, like a Zoom Superfluke or Yum’s Houdini Shad, is a great tool to work the flats whilst searching for fish when bass start to scatter and leave the shallows. Because this lure is rigged for a weedless presentation it can be worked effectively through cover and newly emerging reeds and grasses in the water. 
You can work it as fast or as slow as the conditions demand without fear of hanging up.
An important tip to keep in mind when fishing with soft jerkbaits is to wait to feel the weight of the fish before setting the hook when you detect the bite. This will drastically increase the success of your hook-up ratio.
The best rod-and-reel outfit to use for a soft-bodied jerkbaits would be a 7-foot medium-heavy casting rod and baitcasting reel. I like to use fluorocarbon line because of the added sensitivity, minimal stretch and sinking ability.