Top tips and techniques

The classic jerk technique
Jerk fishing is based on twitching. The lure reacts with sharp turns up to 90° and glides to the sides.  Repeating this will result in the so called 
side-to-side jerking which is basically the theory behind this technique.

But how can this be achived in practice?

One thing to be careful of is that the line and the rod has to be in 90° so that any movement the wrist does can get to the lure without any loss of motion when used with balanced tackle.
Try to keep the rod tip as close to the surface as possible at least at the beginning. So far so good now let's talk about the glides.
To make the lure glide out sideways, you have to change the speed of the retrive radically. There are many ways to achieve that. 

1. 
Now this might be unusual for beginners in jerkbait fishing but you let out some 20cm slack line so you dont have direct contact with the lure until you jerk it again. 
The force required for the pull is measured by the resistance of the lure. You can add more efficiency to the dragging by turning the handle on your reel at the same time as you start pulling.
If you find the perfect rhythm between the rod and the reel you basically won.  
The force needed varies from lure to lure, the Godfather requires one of the least amount of it compared to other lure of the same size, 
therefore the Godfather is a piece of cake to use and capable of really refined movements.
Summary: slack - hit - slack - hit. You hit with turning the reelhandle and feel for the power needed. Not more, not less.

2.
In this type of jerking you dont give any slack line and you never loose contact with the lure. You jerk the perfect amount from a kind of stationary state of the lure and it will do the businessbut an experienced hand is needed to judge the exact force required. With this technique the lure will change direction in a more polite manner, wriggling gracefully sideways rather than bursting out.
Summary: pull gently - pull gently - pull gently. No slack line. Just dance.

3. 
You could call this technique dragging. What your aiming at is a nice steady pull for a 50-100cm then stop. The lure wont burst out to the sides but it will start wriggling like a swimbait in a sine wave shape. The moment you stop pulling the lure will glide out sideways. This technique produces the most bites in the stage where you pause between the drags so be ready. But nothing is set into stone so be always ready :-)
Summmary: drag one big in a constantly accelerating motion then stop. Repeat.

4.
A fairly easy technique but rather a successful one! Can be used with other types of lures too. Basically you retrieve slowly or medium speed with the reel for a few meters then stop for a few seconds. In the moment of the pause the lure will generally glide out to the sides. In the moment of suspending, the lure will start to sink in one place, the sinking models will also shake their sides too. Then you start to retrieve again.Bring in a few meters then pause again. You can spice up things by adding some classic jerking wrist movement right after the suspending stage.
Summary: Pull slowly or medium speed then stop for a few seconds. Repeat.  

5.
Classic swimbait technique. The retrieving is done with a steady, constant speed. The lure glides along a sine bend left and right. The  Godfather lure's frequency is about 70cm to the sides.
This is not the most catching technique for pike but we have been hit by many good surprises before!

TOP TIPS

These techniques are only guidelines and you can and should combine them to make the lure move more unpredictably. In that way you can imitate a dying baitfish more accurately then any other type of lure.

                Retrieve with changing speed

Varying rhythm and speed can be very effective. Try 2 fast pulls then a slow one or do 2 fast, 2 slow. This is entirely up to you and your style like many things in this technique.

                Pause between the glides

Now this is pretty important. Most of the times the pike will hit during this stage because it follows the lure from behind or senses it's movement from the side. 
When the lure stops moving it provokes the predator if it is in attacking range. That's the moment when the pike will decide if this can be caught and BANG! The pike really will catch it.This pause can be a small skip in the rhythm especially in warmer water but could as well be 2-5 seconds in colder water. 
Be aware that the sinking (S) Godfather lure's sides are flashing when suspended so it is provoking predatory instincts even when its standing and sinking.

                Lifting the rodtip

If you want to change depth during the retrieving you simply lift your rodtip and continue bringing it in. The lure will head to the water levels closer to the surface. 
You can also do this in warmer shallow waters with a sinking (S) model because the flashes given by the sides during the sinking period are very effective. 
Make sure you still maintain the 90° between the rod and the line even when you hold the rod high up.

Where to fish with jerkbaits?

Since this technique is primarily designed to catch pike it is recommended to find fishing marks with pike in it.
The lure itself attracts by visual appearance rather than by vibrations so it will do its best when the underwater visibility is at least 50-70cm. 
The maximum depth of the sinking model is about 3,5m (11-12ft).

About the tackle 

    Reel
It a misbelief that jerking can only be done with baitcasting multiplier set up although they are indeed more comfortable.
    Rod
It is recommended to use rods with tighter, stronger tips as you want the force of the twitching delivered to the lure and not lost in the bending soft tip. 
The size 10 Godfather still does not require bigger casting range rods then 40g, it is plenty. When choosing the length of the rod try to aim for about 2m. This is the length that even a beginner will find easy to play a Godfather nicely with.
    Lines
As it's common in lure fishing we recommend braided lines as opposed to mono because the last thing you want is stretching. The weight of the lure does not require ultra thin braids so we recommend a minimum 0,2mm thickness.
    Wiretraces
We recommend titanium traces due to it is flexible yet stiff and biteproof and should be at least 30cm long.

FISHING THE SINKING LURES

The slow floating (SF), the sinking (S) and the slow sinking (SS) models require different approach in casting. 
With the S and the SS models what you want to do is let them sink to the depth you are targeting before you start retrieving the lures. 
This way you will always be in the depth you want to be and you can avoid going above or under the predators.

Lastly what i recommend for beginners is, you don't need to be an expert in all different jerking techniques.
To start with, it's enough to practice 1-2 to an eye-appealing standard then when it becomes routine, the rest will build on that foundation.
When you start seeing your lure moving like this below, you can be sure you and the Godfather became an effective team:

If you have any more questions, do not hesitate to contact us in a private message on facebook:
www.facebook.com/cruelbaits
Or drop us an email to sales@cruelbaits.com!