Banjo Fishing Techniques
THE JERK :
The Banjo Minnow is never reeled in or pulled, it is jerked. A proper jerk is
done with the hands, not the arms! The arms should not move, only the
hands and wrist should move.The words "snap" or "flick" best describe the
motion. The first part of the jerk is nothing but a snap or flick of the hand
and wrist of about 90 degrees. The movement must be FAST and SHORT!
The rod tip itself only moves a very short distance. (Less than two feet) The
bait itself should only move about two feet, or less, on any one jerk. If it
travels further than 2 feet you are most likely pulling the bait! The entire
movement of the bait is propelled solely by the rod tip and the rod tip is
only moved by the motion of your hands, not your arms! The faster and
shorter the better. The instant the flick or snap is finished, the hands and
wrist snap or flick the rod tip back to the original position creating slack in
the line. (The reasons for why a jerk is done in this manner is explained
below.)
JERK AND STOP RETRIEVE
This is the simplest retrieve of all. The angler simply casts out and retrieves
the lure with a series if jerks and pauses.
THE JERK is always SHORT and QUICK because a SHORT, QUICK
movement can trigger a genetic response that has the power to involuntarily
make predator fish react. I call it the "catch gene" because a quick darting
movement simulates what prey does when it tries to get away. A predator
loves to catch, witness a cat that has caught a mouse and will then put it
down and prod it so it will try and run and the cat can catch it again.
Witness yourself who fishes even when it has nothing to do with food.
Catching is fun to a predator!
THE PAUSE creating slack line can be one second or many seconds and
is important for many reasons.
1.Bass (as well as most fish)***,do not bite food, they inhale it. The reason
there are hooks on the back of all baits is because virtually all lures are
retrieved on a tight line. The bass rushes the bait and then pops his mouth
open wide and flares his gills. This creates a powerful vacuum that sucks the
bait and a large volume of water back into the fishes mouth. The water is
expelled through the gills and the gill rakers trap the bait. Since most lures are
retrieved on a tight line the bait can not be vacuumed backwards and
therefore the fish closes it's mouth on the back of the bait, hence most
manufacturers place hooks on the rear of their baits. Few fisherman really
understand this or think about it, including a lot of lure manufacturers.
They think that fish come up behind the bait and bite. If you have a
tight line or are pulling the bait when the fish strikes you may miss the strike,
because the Banjo hook placement is at the front of the bait. If you have slack
the bait will be sucked entirely into the fishes mouth. It is a very positive
hooking system when done properly because the hook is totally exposed and
the first thing to come in contact with the fishes mouth when the line comes
tight, is the hook.
***there are exceptions
2.. Bass, as well as many fish, will hit on a pause because it is then that a
bait is most easily caught. The pause, like the jerk, is also trigger
3. The quick snap that propelled the bait forward is done by the rod tip
moving the line. When the rod tip is snapped back towards the lure the line
instantly stops moving, and the lure itself, which has momentum, overruns the line,
which results
in the line creating drag and turning the nose of the bait in a sideway direction. A
change of direction is also a trigger. Every time the bait quickly changes direction
it creates a stimulus in a predator. All prey will usually try and dodge when a
predator is closing in, and all predators are genetically imprinted to strike at that
moment because it is the best chance of a successful catch. If they hesitate they
will generally over run their prey because their greater size and weight makes it
more difficult to change directions. Most lures are designed to move only in a
straight line, the Banjo Minnow is designed to change direction after each jerk if
you pause and create slack between your jerks. Every jerk creates a visual stimulus
to the fish who are watching or following the bait. A single jerk contains three distinct
triggers. 1. A quick sudden movement, 2. a pause, and 3. a change of direction.
Once your rod tip has gone back toward the bait on the pause, you watch the slack
line for movement indicating you have a pick up. At the same time you are pausing
and watching the line, you are reeling up MOST( but not all) of the slack you have
created in preparation for the next jerk. (NEVER reel so much line that you move the
lure or create a tight line) Once you have decided you have paused long enough you
jerk the bait exactly like before. The first part of the jerk is taking up the slack line that
is still left and does not move the lure, when the line suddenly comes tight to the lure
it will cause a radical change of direction and the lure will dart forward a SHORT
distance. The body of the Banjo Minnow will bend on the change of direction and
it's movement will mimic that of a hurt bait fish
REMEMBER, NEVER, EVER, PULL OR REEL THE BAIT!!!
It destroys lifelike movement!
Timing
The length of time of the pause after a jerk is varied, it can be a second or many
seconds. The rule is that the tougher the bite, the longer the pause. When fish are
completely shut down you must slow down and only occasionally jerk. It is essential
that one understand that fish rest or sleep similar to other life species. The more
restful they become, the less willing they are to chase or go after bait that causes them
any kind of stress. Many fisherman do not understand this and keep jerking the bait
along. When you can't catch fish and you know there are probably fish where you are
fishing, slow down! Let the bait die, let it die, let it die, let it die! Sometimes the only
way to catch a fish in a catatonic state is to let it go to bottom and just sit there and
occasionally twitch the bait while watching the line. It is a boring way to fish, but
sometimes it is the only way to catch them.
SWIMMING MINNOW RETRIEVE
The only difference between the Swimming retrieve and the Jerk and Stop retrieve
is that you make a series of jerks in extremely rapid succession. The jerks are made
in such rapid succession that the rod tip looks more like you are trying to wiggle it.
The hand is jerking so fast that there is limited wrist movement and you are attempting
to create a rhythm. The bait will actually swim thru the water like a real live fish. It
should travel rapidly but it should not move very far. Three feet is all that is necessary.
AGAIN, do not reel or pull the bait by moving your arm. Upon the pause, snap the rod
tip back creating slack in the line and watch the line. Relax. There is no hurry. Most
fish hit on the pause. Think about pausing longer and longer between swimming jerks
if you don't get a bite. There is always a conflict about which is a better strategy, to
cover more water to find more fish, or to slow down and see if there might be fish
where you are fishing that can only be caught by fishing slower, and slower.....and
slower! The swimming minnow retrieve takes a little practice, but there are days that it
will catch fish when a simple jerk and stop will not catch them. Properly done, the
swimming movement is so realistic that it can fool even the most wary fish.
SPASTIC ACTION RETRIEVE
The spastic action retrieve is nothing more than combining the Jerk and Stop with the
Swimming retrieve and juggling the length of the pauses. You are trying to create the
illusion of a fleeing wounded bait fish. It is out of control, changes directions, stops,
free falls and then tries to right itself and swim again. Vary the pauses, the speeds,
and try and to create a lot of trigger movements.
DYING MINNOW APPROACH takes very little practice, it is simply to cast out and
let the minnow sink to bottom while occasionally making the minnow twitch, but not
making it move any distance. I haven't the patience to sit and watch my line myself,
but I have had novice fisherman just drag the minnow on bottom while I ran my trolling
motor down a shoreline casting away at logs, rocks and grassmats, only to be totally
out fished by the person in the back of the boat using the same Banjo Minnow I was
using. They were not fishing it the way it was designed to be fished, but when fish are
completely shut down the least movement possible is sometimes the only way to
catch them.
DIFFICULTY OF LEARNING The jerk and stop is pretty easy. I have seen days on
which the jerk and stop retrieve would catch fish at on almost every cast and the very
next day the fish
in the very same spot would look at the same bait with a jerk and stop retrieve, but
refuse it. If I swam the lure and paused they would hit it. It takes a little practice to
perfect the swimming retrieve and some people take longer than others. As a fishing
guide, I have had novice fisherman swimming the lure within 20 casts, while a very
experienced friend was still struggling hours later to consistently swim the lure without
pulling it. It takes a little rhythm and realization that it is all in the rod tip, takes quickness,
not strength, and stable arm position. Once you master it and see the Banjo Minnow swim,
you will know why it catches fish. You are either already an accomplished angler
or becoming one!
